After moving 288 enterprises out of the capital last year, Beijing said it will again move 300 companies that have contributed heavily to the city's pollution problem this year and speed up industrial reform.

The 300 companies that will be relocated to nearby cities or regions include manufacturers of construction materials and furniture, Beijing authorities said.  These companies have high water and energy consumption.

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But before these companies will be allowed to set up plants in nearby cities or regions, they will have to upgrade their technology and restructure production in order to lessen the emission of pollutants, said the city's Commission of Economy and Information Technology.

Commission Director Zhang Boxu said authorities from the nearby areas of Tianjin, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia are currently in discussion to whether or not accept the companies that will be kicked out of the Chinese capital.

Beijing has been battling a severe air pollution problem since 2012, and despite efforts instituted by the city government last year, authorities said the capital's air quality in 2013 did not improve.

The pollution problem in Beijing has already turned off investors and shooed away tourists, alarming local government officials.

Last year, authorities relocated 288 enterprises, cutting sulfur dioxide emission by 7,000 tons. But it was not enough, the municipal environmental protection bureau said because the pollution problem continues to persist.

Expert said the particles smaller than 2.5 microns, which is measured by the PM2.5 Index, has reached almost 90 micrograms per cubic meter last year. The reading exceeded the national good air standard by a worrying 156 percent.

Particles smaller than 2.5 microns can penetrate the lungs and cause various respiratory illnesses, including lung cancer, experts said.

Being has implemented pollution-fighting measures last year, including the ban on street-side barbecuing. It has also shut down companies that produced heavy pollution and offer incentives to residents who will be electric or hybrid cars.

TagsBeing Pollution, Pollution in China, Beijing Air Pollution