Four power station projects worth 10.37 billion yuan ($1.66 billion) and relocation of a steel plant were approved on Monday by China's National Development and Reform Commission.

The power stations were approved mainly for energy conservation and emissions reduction, while the steel plant was relocated to protect the environment.

The power station projects comprise two 300,000 kW coal-fired power units in Lanzhou, Gansu province, worth 3.06 billion yuan; two 300,000 kW coal-fired power units in Tangshan, Hebei province, worth 2.74 billion yuan; one 600,000 kW coal-fired unit in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, worth 1.52 billion yuan and two 350,000 kW air-cooled supercritical coal-fired power units in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region worth 3.05 billion yuan, according to statements from the website of the country's top economic planning body.

Meanwhile, Ma Steel (Hefei) Iron & Steel Co Ltd will build a processing base in Hefei, Anhui province, which will process 2.55 million tons of steel a year, and the company's headquarters in Ma'anshan, Anhui, will shut down annual production of 1.4 million tons of steel and 900,000 tons of iron, according to a statement on the commission's website.

lijiabao@chinadaily.com.cn