Government and Policy

No setback for coal mine restructuring

By Xie Jingwei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-01-19 17:43
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China's top economic planner refuted a report claiming the country is encouraging closed small coal mines to restart production in the wake of power shortages, China Business News reported today.

Although the recent coal shortage slowed down the process of restructuring, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will continue to push forward its reform in the coal industry and shut down more small coal mines to ensure work safety, said an unnamed official with the NDRC's Department of Economic System Reform.

A whirlwind of closures of small pits in the coal-rich Shanxi Province drove down the region's coal output and led to its most severe power shortage in three years.