A host of foreign correspondents have become first ever onsite
witnesses of a latest major shutdown of a big polluter in Beijing,
the city's 48 year-old 1st Coke Chemistry Plant, in response to the
"Green Olympics", an environmental initiative advocated by the
upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympiad.
Cameramen capture the scene
at the Beijing Coke and Chemistry Plant on Tuesday, February 27,
2007. Twenty-two reporters from 14 foreign media organizations
visited the plant, which was once the greatest source of pollution
in Beijing.
According to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Organizing
Committee, or BOCOG, the recently closed-down coal gas producer has
been the major sources of air pollution in the Chinese capital
city. Visiting the then polluter Tuesday included 22 senior
correspondents from 14 foreign media organizations that have
offices in Beijing, like Reuters and AFP. The 1st Beijing Coke
Chemistry Plant locates near the Southeaster Fifth Ring Road of the
city. The reporters conducted a series of interviews with
officials and former plant workers while they were visiting on
site.
Xinhua News Agency reports Beijing plans to turn the site of the
plant into a special industrial memorial park in honor of its
"Green Olympics" commitments. Part of the revised plant has been
moved to Tangshan, a city in neighboring Hebei Province.
The coal gas producer, which was built in 1959, totally ceased
its production on July 23, 2006, following its increasing air
pollution and a decline in its production capacity.
Sources with the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Organizing Committee
say that the plant shutdown is expected to greatly improve air
quality of Beijing. Experts predict the city's annual coal
consumption will be reduced by 2.96 million tons, while dust and
sulfur dioxide emissions will be cut by 73.21 million tons and 75
million tons respectively, an almost 80 percent drop, following the
plant's closure.
Other highly polluting plants have also ceased production ahead
of the Olympics. The Beijing Shougang Group, China's fourth largest
steel maker, in the city's west stopped production in 2005. The
Group will wind up its massive move to neighboring Hebei by
2010.
The Beijing Coke and
Chemistry Plant has ceased production to pave the way for the
Beijing Olympics next year.
Also according to Beijing's vice Mayor Ji Lin, green coverage in
Beijing has increased to 42 percent and the green space per capita
is now 47 square kilometers. Earlier this month, a BOCOG
environmental official also confirmed that air quality in Beijing
has been keeping its improvement over the past six years. The
official is confident that the city's environmental commitments
will make the upcoming 2008 Olympics an equally green one.
(CRI February 28, 2007)
