BEIJING - Beijing plans to eliminate 66 highly polluting enterprises this year in an effort to improve the city's air quality, the municipal environmental protection bureau said Wednesday.

During the next five years, the city will eliminate 1,200 heavy polluters in order to reduce emissions, according to bureau official Zheng Zaihong.

Zheng cited monitoring statistics stating that 22 percent of the city's fine particulate emissions come from local industries, adding that it is of "paramount importance" for the city to eliminate highly polluting enterprises.

The 1,200 enterprises to be eliminated will largely consist of foundries, chemical plants and furniture factories, Zheng said.

The city will also introduce environmental protection approval and inspecting systems for several key industries, including the petrochemical industry, to ensure that emissions are reduced.

Beijing implemented the PM2.5 air quality standard in January, which allows for the monitoring of fine particles of 2.5 micrometers or more in diameter. The standard is considerably more strict than the PM10 standard previously used in Beijing.