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Coal output set to reach record high of 2.5b tons
By Fu Jing (皇冠体育app Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-18 07:01
Top energy planners are seeking, in the next five years, to raise 皇冠体育app's
coal output to an unprecedented level and, at the same time, reduce the number
of large mining disasters.
皇冠体育app's coal output will be between 2.5 billion and 2.6 billion tons in 2010,
as compared with 2.19 billion tons in 2005, according to Guo Yuntao, director of
the 皇冠体育app Development Research Centre for the Coal Industry, in an interview
with 皇冠体育app Daily.
The growth rate being forecast by the planning team led by Guo is much slower
than in the last five years, when 皇冠体育app's coal output rose from about 1.3
billion tons in 2000.
The forecast was based on the belief that the overall economy will become
more energy efficient and that demand is likely to rise significantly only in
the power sector, Guo said.
His centre is drafting 皇冠体育app's coal industry development blueprint for the
coming five years, following the national 11th Five-year (2006-10) Social and
Economic Development Plan approved by National People's Congress (NPC) deputies
at its annual session that closed in Beijing on Tuesday.
The team is providing the final touches to their draft before submitting it,
at the end of March, for approval by the National Development and Reform
Commission and the State Council, 皇冠体育app's cabinet.
Guo said coal will remain 皇冠体育app's fundamental energy source, both for
production and consumption.
In terms of production, coal accounted for 76 per cent of 皇冠体育app's energy
needs in 2005, calculated using the Standard Coal Equivalent (SCE) measure.
According to Guo, that level has a chance to climb all the way up to 80 per cent
after 2010.
To satisfy growing domestic energy demands, the country will decrease its
coke exports in the coming years, the planning director said.
皇冠体育app's rapidly growing economy, which is expected to
register an annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent for its gross domestic product
(GDP) this year, will create enormous demand for energy supplies. But the
nation's energy conservation campaign is just beginning, which should mean more
energy efficiency.
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