Beijing looks to move polluting steel plant

The mayor of Beijing said he was considering moving one of the capital's biggest polluters out of the city despite the huge cost of the project, estimated at some US$4.8bn. The Shougan iron and steel plant, also known as Capital Iron and Steel, is located in an industrial area west of the city and is seen by many as the leading obstacle to Beijing's efforts to clean up its air. Speaking alongside the mayor, Wang Jirong, vice-director of the government's State Environmental Protection Administration, warned that pollution would get much worse if the plant was not moved, adding that the commercial interests of some heavy polluters should not come at the expense of the health of millions of residents in Beijing. The Chinese capital has set itself ambitious pollution clean-up targets in the run up to the 2008 Olympics, which it has marketed as "The Green Olympics".