Wang Jinnan, vice-president and chief engineer of the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, said the action plan with an overall investment at 1.74 trillion yuan ($285 billion), includes industrial enterprise pollution control, alternative clean energy, enhanced central heating and vehicle pollution control and generates socioeconomic benefits.

Net GDP growth stands at 1.94 trillion yuan and 2.46 million nonagricultural job opportunities will be created.

The steelmaking industry is hit the hardest with GDP declining by 81.2 billion yuan, as part of the phase out of backward productivity, while cement and coke industries are also affected, with GDP respectively down by 16.7 billion yuan and 14.2 billion yuan.

A total of 26.02 million new jobs will be created in fields including general equipment manufacturing, construction, metalwork, transportation and automobile making.

The health benefits from the PM2.5 concentration decrease stand at about 90 billion yuan per year.

Each year witnesses a decline in cases of premature urban deaths, 20 percent of which are due to exposure to PM2.5.

Outpatient and emergency cases would be reduced by 9.41 million a year.

- Zheng Xin

(China Daily 11/17/2013 page2)