Chinese government calls halt to 30 projects after fears of non-compliance with environmental regulations.
The Chinese government has ordered a halt to construction at 30 large projects due to alleged violations of environmental regulations and other concerns.
The projects include 26 power plants, a cardboard factory, and two new roads, one of which stretches from Tibet to China’s border with North Korea. Two power stations at the massive Three Gorges Dam are affected as well as a project on the Jinshajiang River, which aims to harness the power of the upper Yangtze river.
The government’s State Environmental Protection Administration said that many of the projects failed to comply with requirements for environmental impact assessments or other authorisations. The Administration said that while some projects would resume, others would be cancelled.
Last year the government said it was stepping up controls on power plants saying many were being built without legal approval. It estimated that the capacity of plants under construction at 120,000 megawatts was around 30 times current national generating capability.
