GUANGZHOU, CHINA: Massive construction sites that could choke the environment in South China's Guangdong Province will have to be submitted to public scrutiny before they get the go-ahead.

This is according to a draft environmental protection regulation issued in the province.

According to the regulation, environmental protection departments will hold hearings from September before they judge whether a big construction site will cause pollution and whether they should allow them to be built.

The future environmental protection regulation will follow in the footsteps of the existing national environmental protection law that requires hearings before such sites are constructed.

The environmental protection regulation was discussed at the 12th session of the 10th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress late last month.

The draft is expected to be passed at the next session of the people's congress in September.

According to the draft, factories that pollute the environment will not be allowed to operate unless they stop polluting and gain certification.

Any person or factory in breach of the regulation will be fined up to 100,000 yuan (US$12,000).

(China Daily 08/02/2004 page3)