Four ministries call off 32 nonconforming power projects

The National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Land and Resources, Ministry of Water Resources and State Environmental Protection Administration issued a notice recently calling off construction on 32 nonconforming power plant projects.

According to sources these projects have, to different extents, failed to conform to the government's regulations on land use, environmental protection, water use and water and soil conservancy, with problems such as unreasonable layout, inadequate water supply, use of underground water in water-wanting areas and nonconformity to industrial policy etc. Expert appraisals decided that they cannot be brought into near-term electricity development plan.

About 20 billion yuan investment has been injected into these out-of-line projects with total installed capacity of 17.114 million kilowatt. If construction continues the total investment would reach 85.5 billion yuan after completion assuming that each kilowatt costs 5,000 yuan. It would not only hamper the normal development of the power industry but also bring risks to the financial industry threatening the sound development of the national economy. Therefore, the four ministries joined hands to ensure the fruits of the macro-controls and maintain the sustained and sound development of the power industry.

By People's Daily Online