Beijing completes household conversion to natural gas

BEIJING, July 9 (Reuters) The last batch of 6,000 inner city households in Beijing have been converted to natural gas, the Beijing News said today, as China tries to clean up its polluted capital ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The Beijing Coke-Oven Plant, built in 1958 to pump coal gas to the capital's urban areas for cooking and heating, will shut down for good next weekend.

While natural gas is used in the city centre, coal is still widely used in households on the fringes of the city.

The government said last month that China's drive for economic growth was in direct conflict with efforts to safeguard the environment.

The warning came amid rising public concern about smoggy skies and toxic spills that are poisoning rivers and drinking water, despite government pledges to clean up in time for the Olympics.

China's vast domestic coal reserves provide around 70 percent of its energy, but China still imported 127 million tonnes of crude oil last year -- more than 40 percent of its consumption.

REUTERS SHB RN1210