China bans new polluting projects in three cities: ministry

[BEIJING] China's environment ministry has ordered three northern cities to stop approving new polluting projects in the next six months after they failed to meet air quality targets over the winter, an official said on Thursday.

The three cities - Handan in Hebei province, and Jincheng and Yangquan in Shanxi - all failed to meet targets to cut levels of hazardous, breathable particles known as PM2.5 over the October 2017 to March 2018 period.

The three cities have also been ordered to come up with a detailed plan to "rectify" the situation, which they must submit to Ministry of Ecology and Environment within 20 working days, said Liu Changgen, deputy director of the ministry's inspection office.

REUTERS