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29 March 2024

China to shut outdated plants

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By Staff Writer

China, the world's biggest iron producer, plans to shut 10 million metric tonnes of obsolete capacity this year to curb industrial pollution.

The fourth-biggest economy will also close six million tonnes of steelmaking capacity and urge companies in industries including power, cement, coking and paper to eliminate outdated facilities, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said yesterday in a statement on its website.

The watchdog also laid out goals for expanding capacity to treat sewage and reduce factory emissions to help the country achieve government-mandated pollution cuts. China needs to reduce emission of sulfur dioxide, an ingredient of acid rain, by two per cent this year compared to 2008, the statement said.

China aims to shut 15 million kilowatts of obsolete power generation capacity this year, according to the statement. The country last year closed 16.69 million kilowatts of small coal-fired power units, it said.

Levels of sulfur dioxide and chemical-oxygen demand, a measure of the organic compounds in water, fell by large margins in 2008 compared to the previous year, the statement said, without giving details.

The ministry's goal for chemical oxygen demand this year is three per cent lower than last year's level.