Construction projects shut down around Beijing for APEC

During the APEC leaders meeting in Beijing, construction projects in regions near the capital are being temporarily shut to maintain good air quality. [Special coverage]

To reduce air pollutants during APEC, a radius of 200 kilometers around Beijing is being monitored and controlled. The area is being divided into key areas and common areas. More than 2,000 construction sites will be affected; one-third of them are inside key areas.

"Within the key areas, all production and construction will be temporally suspended or limited. The target is to reduce 30 percent of air pollutants. Production in common areas will also adopt these measures if the air quality in Beijing reaches a certain pollution level," Lyu Wen with Hebei Dept. Of Environmental Protection said.

The division of areas is based on the effect of their pollutants on Beijing. The measures in key areas mainly involve the suspension of strip mining, transporting dregs and other dust-raising operations. Other production centers that cause pollution must reduce their operation time by half.

"We will send people to factories and construction sites that are under restriction. They will monitor the operations 24-7, and will expose any illegal operating in violation of the environmental protection law," Lyu Wen said.

Lyu stressed that the measures only apply during the APEC leaders meeting, which ends next Tuesday.