20000207

Japan to extend

loans to China

TOKYO: Japan has decided to extend low-interest loans worth 16 billion yen (150 million dollars) to China for pollution control projects, the Yomiuri Shimbun national daily reported on Sunday.

The yen-denominated loans will be offered to make three Chinese cities "model urban areas for environmental development," the daily said.

The loans will cover projects in Dalian to treat gas emissions from plants and programmes will be funded in Chungqingin and Guiyang to promote the use of natural gas and reduce dependence on coals, the report said.

Tokyo plans to aid about 10 such projects in the three cities in 2000, it said.

China hopes to use the loans and anti-pollution technology provided by Japanese companies to fight pollution in other regions in the future, it said.ÑAFP