According to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), outdated items of equipment responsible for excessive energy consumption and high levels of pollution belonging to 165 enterprises in Hebei Province are to be dismantled before the National Day holiday. Thus, there are only about 10 days left to meet the target in question, which is reported to affect at least 14 steel producers.
In Hebei Province, some steel mills have already dismantled equipment which does not conform to the official requirements on energy consumption and emissions.
According to the MIIT, the companies which do not eliminate outdated equipments on schedule may have environmental licenses revoked. It added that the local government could also halt supply of electricity to the concerned companies.