Work at Beijing construction sites will be suspended in the run-up to, and during, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the municipal government announced yesterday.
The suspension - along with a slew of other initiatives - to be in effect from July 20 to September 20, aims to ensure better air quality during the Games, said Du Shaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing environment protection bureau.
Other measures announced yesterday include:
- 19 heavy-polluting industries were asked to cut emissions by a further 30 percent.
- Gas stations, tanker trucks and oil depots will close if they haven't completed "oil vapor recovery" technical upgrades.
- Outdoor spray-painting is forbidden throughout the city.
And quarrying operations will be stopped.
The measures will help "fulfill Beijing's commitment to improving air quality during the Beijing Olympics", Du said.
"Enterprises that shut down or reduce production during the period will be exempted from pollution emission charges," he added.
Last month, Beijing announced plans to take as many as half of its 3.3 million vehicles off the roads during the Games period to help cut emissions.
Automobiles, excluding taxis, buses and emergency vehicles, are to stay off roads every other day in accordance with the even and odd numbers on the license plates, it was announced.
Five provinces and municipalities surrounding Beijing - Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong provinces and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region - will join the efforts to ensure good air quality in the capital. They will announce detailed plans soon.
Du is confident of fulfilling the promise Beijing has made to the world on air pollution prevention.
Other pollution control measures announced earlier include:
From March 20, all earthwork construction projects are suspended on windy days.
The authorities have implemented new car emission standards since March 1 that match those currently used in the European Union.
And coal-burning industries were relocated out of developed areas.
An IOC study released last month said that competition conditions would "not necessarily (be) ideal at every moment," but said Beijing's air quality was better than expected.
Beijing, which is sometimes shrouded in smog, has spent more than $15 billion over the last decade to clean its air.
The city notched up 67 "blue sky days" from January to the end of March, 12 more than the same period last year and the highest in nine years, according to Du.
（英語點津 Celene 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.
