Beijing Forges New Plan to Improve Environment for Olympics

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 ◆ Beijing Forges New Plan to Improve Environment for Olympics

The Beijing municipal government has drawn up a new plan for curbing air pollution and removing dilapidated houses in a bid to create a favorable environment for the 2008 Olympic Games.

According to the plan, the city this year will demolish dilapidated houses with a total floor space of 2.24 million square meters and have at least 200 days rated as "excellent" or "fairly good" in air quality.

Liu Qi, mayor of Beijing, said the city will build more economical apartments for those whose house were due to be torn down.

He said the move to repair buildings should not damage the city's overall look and historical sites should continue to be protected.

The measures to improve the city's air quality include reducing waste gas emissions, eliminating obsolete vehicles and curbing industrial pollution, according to Liu.