Dow Jones cited a senior ministry official as saying that Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection is studying ways to shut down high polluting companies and is closely monitoring the steel industry for companies that start construction on steel projects without securing environmental approvals.

Mr Zhu Xingxiang head of pollution prevention division in Ministry of Environmental Protection, at a joint briefing on industrial overcapacity with the National Development Reform Commission and the Ministry of Land and Resources, said the ministry is targeting companies in the steel, power, electrolytic aluminum and coking coal industries for possible closures because of environmental pollution.

He said that the government may offer compensation for the closures and could begin trying out ways to affect such closures soon.

He added that "Many steel projects start construction without environmental approval."

Mr Zhu said without naming the projects that the ministry is also closely monitoring some hydropower projects which may impact the environment.

The ministry has declined or delayed 47 projects worth CNY191 billion so far this year on the basis of environmental standards, including those in the steel, petrochemical, nonferrous metals and power sectors.

(Sourced from Dow Jones)