Beijing will have 238 "blue-sky" days this year despite a difficult start to improving air quality last month, the city's Vice-Mayor Ji Lin pledged yesterday.

"Blue-sky" days are measured by air quality reaching a minimum of Level II, when air causes no harm to health in any outdoor activities.

In January, Beijing saw only nine "blue-sky" days, 10 days fewer than the same month last year.

Ji said at a session of the municipal environmental protection committee yesterday that different governmental departments would make joint efforts and adopt a series of new measures to improve air quality in the city.

The measures were listed in the draft of a plan on the Beijing municipal environmental protection bureau's website on Friday.

According to the draft, the bureau will begin to charge fees on construction sites to control the pollution of flying dust on May 1.

The Beijing News quoted an unidentified official with the bureau as saying the charge would be 0.6 yuan (7.4 cents) per square meter. Zhai Xiaohui, a spokeswoman for the bureau, would not confirm or deny that figure yesterday.

Zhai said it is the first time the government had charged this kind of fee.

She said in the past the government used to require contractors to spend a certain amount to control pollution themselves, but many, driven by profit, took inadequate measures.

Those producing excessive loose dust would be charged at a double rate, the draft said.

From April 1, all the construction sites within the Fourth Ring Road will not be allowed to mix mortar on the construction sites. Instead, they will be required to use mortar pre-mixed by mortar plants in closed workshops.

The notice said any construction enterprises that fail to reach the required standard of environmental protection will be ordered to stop construction after two official warnings.

Those receiving three punishments will lose the right to bid for future construction projects.

Other provisions of the draft are:

The government would require major emission sources, such as boilers, industrial stoves and refuse incinerators, to be equipped with monitors linked to the bureau.

The city will replace 8,000 taxis and 2,000 buses this year with those having higher emission standards, even if they are not due for replacement.

The city would step up supervision of emissions on roads. The bureau is going to install a remote sensory system in some key places to examine the emission.

Zhai said the bureau is continuing to welcome citizens to report offences of emission pollution by taking photos and sending them by e-mail.

(China Daily February 14, 2006)