“China rejected 17 proposed construction projects involving a total investment of 109 billion yuan (17.6 billion U.S. dollars) for reasons of environmental protection in the first half of 2015,” the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said Friday, according to Xinhua.
According to the news agency:
The 17 projects were among 92 examined by the MEP in the first six month, which involved more than 700 billion yuan ($112.6 billion) investment in total.
China is improving its environmental impact assessment system. A better system is crucial to protecting the environment and fixing loopholes that allow corruption.
Construction of major projects in China has been the main tool for boosting investment and sustaining growth since the beginning of 2015. Investment in the railways rose almost 23% year on year by the end of April, RT reported.
China projected in the next 2 years it would boost investment to foster technological progress in six manufacturing industries, including:
- railway equipment,
- new-energy vehicles
- and medical equipment.
The country is trying to upgrade its manufacturing sector and stimulate sluggish economic growth.
Recently, the Chinese government has announced plans to make Beijing (current population: 20 million) the center of an 82,000 square mile megacity called Jing-Jin-Ji that will eventually have 130 million inhabitants. That will make it more populated than Japan by roughly 3 million people.
In forming a new megacity, the idea is to marry the resources of each surrounding region: Beijing’s deep pockets and research capabilities, Tianjin’s port access to the Bohai Sea, and the technological developments in Hebei province. Newly formed highways and bridges, such as the one that links the central city of Yanjiao to Beijing, will connect the cities.
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