December 02, 2008

China to suspend some heavy industry as Games near

It is reported that the nearby industrial port of Tianjin has ordered 40 factories to suspend some operations for two months as part of a broader effort to improve air quality during the Olympic Games.

The planned shutdowns in Tianjin, about 110 kilometers southeast of Beijing, are one piece of a regional plan that is expected to bring temporary factory closures or slowdowns across a large swath of northern China during the Games. As yet, few details are known about exactly which factories might close, or when, so the announcement in Tianjin offers a window into one aspect of the plan.

Beijing's air quality remains a major concern for the Games as the city continues to struggle with pollution, despite a USD 20 billion government cleanup campaign. Beijing is also a victim of its neighborhood: pollution blows in from surrounding regions, which are dotted with coal mines, coal fired power plants, steel mills, cement factories and other clusters of heavy industry.