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Beijing is determined to ring the New Year with better environment in a bid to create still better living conditions for its residents, the China Daily reported recently.

Investment in environmental protection is on the rise. The figure is predicted to exceed 10 billion yuan (1.2 billion US dollars) this year.

The painstaking efforts of the Beijing municipal government to improve air quality have begun to pay off. The city's goal is to have at least 219 days with fairly good or excellent air quality in 2003. The achieved goal for 2002 was 201 days.

The municipal government has vowed to continue improving the air quality and help the city achieve clean air, which is defined as days with an air quality of level two or better, for 60 percent of the whole year.

Shijingshan District in northwestern Beijing and two other areas in the Chinese capital's southeastern suburbs are the focus of this year's comprehensive ecological improvement project. Industrial emissions control is still the key point.

Environmentally friendly automobiles are highlighted in the plan. Further promotion of the use of clean fuels and stricter controls on automobile emission are on the agenda. Early decommissioning of old cars, and restriction on driving time for high-polluting cars are included in the plan.

Various methods, especially economic means, are expected to be put into practice to encourage construction sites to gain a "Green Sample" certificate to meet standards for dust control.