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HEBEI PROVINCE : Beijing is making huge adjustments in preparation for the Olympics, which is just weeks away.
Half the cars have been taken off the roads, construction has ceased, and polluting factories have been shut down and relocated elsewhere.
The Beijing Shougang Company has shut down all but one furnace - cutting emissions by as much as 80 per cent. But the move has slashed output by 50 per cent and is expected to cause annual profits to fall by US$285 million.
Lu Zhenchun, Head, Shougang Metal Plant, said: "A big sacrifice was made by our workers who had to give up their familiar surroundings in Beijing to start anew in another place, for the sake of the group's development. We have to stop operations which is costing us millions of dollars."
Beijing has been criticised for moving its pollution problems to less developed cities just to put up a good show for the Olympics.
However, Shougang's president Zhu Jimin told Channel NewsAsia that these remarks stem from a lack of understanding of the industry.
Responding to criticism, Mr Zhu said that Shougang has always met international environmental standards, and the relocation of the group has far deeper implications than reducing Beijing's pollution.
To prove its point, the company took Channel NewsAsia us on a five-hour drive from Beijing to its new home in Tangshan city, in Hebei Province.
The US$8 billion new plant will cover 21 square kilometres and provide at least 5,000 new jobs for the Tangshan locals.
Mr Zhu said: "We will be adopting the world's most advanced energy and resource-saving technologies for the new plant. Our equipment will be bigger, production will be cleaner, output will be recycled and products will be better. These measures will ensure that the eco-system in the new area will not be affected."
The state-owned enterprise will begin operations at its new site in October. - CNA/ms
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