Shanxi Province will shut down 404 heavily polluting companies by June 30 this year, in a bid to improve the environment and restructuring the local economy, said sources with the provincial government on Sunday.

The first group of 383 heavily polluting enterprises in the province had been closed by March 31. They include coal, coking, electricity, metallurgical, chemical and building materials companies.

The provincial government stressed that authorities at the county level must take charge of eliminating the heavily polluting enterprises with the worst result in environmental protection.

Shanxi is a major coal production base in China.

Source: Xinhua