Beijing Coking Plant will move away from the city on July 15 and
some equipment and employees will be relocated away from the city.
According to the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BEPB),
the plant's move will help improve the air quality in the city. It
also signifies the end of nearly 50 years of coal gas use in
Beijing.
Officials from BEPB say there are two significant industrial
pollution areas in Beijing. One is in the southwest of the city
where the Shougang Group and some large electricity plants are
located. The other is in the southeast of Beijing where there are
coking and chemical plants.
According to BEPB estimates, as a result of the Coking Plant
relocation, coal consumption will be reduced by 2.96 million tons
per year and industrial emissions will go down by 4.33 billion
cubic meters per year. Sulfur dioxide emissions will be reduced by
1,617 tons per year. Experts say the sulfur dioxide pollution in
the air of Beijing will be reduced by about 80 percent.
The Coking Plant has a 47-year history. It has six large-scale
coke ovens and in its prime, yearly output could reach 600 million
cubic meters. In total it has provided 14.8 billion cubic meters of
coal gas to Beijing. Initially it supplied coal gas to Zhongnanhai,
Great Hall of the People, famous restaurants, the embassy areas,
then to tens of thousands of Beijing households, hotels,
restaurants and enterprises. It made a significant contribution to
the environment of Beijing at that time as it changed the habits of
city dwellers who burnt coal.?
With the success in winning the bid for hosting the 2008
Olympics, Beijing set higher objectives for environmental
protection. The municipal government has therefore taken the
important step of gradually replacing the coal gas with cleaner and
more abundant natural gas.
(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, July 12, 2006)