China to Launch Five-Year Development Plan for Coal Industry

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Following its publication of the draft version of China's 12th Five-Year (2011-15) Development Plan for the coal industry in May this year, the National Energy Administration (NEA) is ready to launch the final version shortly, according to a local newspaper on November 11, 2011.

According to the previous report, the Chinese government will continue to make industrial merging and reorganization, as well as the development of large-scale enterprise groups, its top priority during the 12th Five-Year Plan. Among the specific objectives, the number of coal enterprises with annual production capacities of more than 100 million metric tons will be expanded from five to 10. Enhancing the utilization and development of coal bed methane, as well as improving the localization level of coal mining equipment, also will be the key objectives in the plan.

"Accelerating the process of shifting the economic development mode of the coal industry will certainly be the main focus in the plan, while encouraging merging and reorganization, as well as the establishing of large-scale enterprises, will be one of the orientations," said Yue Fubin, the president of China's Institute of Coal Economics Research. As reported, by 2015, the number of coal enterprises in China may be held to 4,100, and the scale will be increased to more than 1 million metric tons.

In October 2010, the State Council of China forwarded the National Development and Reform Commission's notices concerning the acceleration of merging and reorganization among coal mining enterprises, which required the government of each level to perform the overall planning and scheme in each region, and define the main body in the merging and reorganization.

As reported, the planning and schemes of each region have been submitted to the central government in the first half of this year. According to the prediction by the China Institute of Coal Economics Research, the coal output of China is expected to reach 3.5 billion metric tons. By the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan, China's coal output will be more than 4 billion metric tons. "The actual coal production capacity will certainly be increased, but the specific growth depends on whether the growth in new energies, such as wind energy and solar energy, can meet the energy demand or not," Yue Fubin said.

According to the plan, the scale of new mining construction might be held to 500 million metric tons; therefore, the total coal output in 2015 would be held to 4 billion metric tons.

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