The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publicly solicits opinions on the Implementation Measures for Capacity Replacement of Cement and Glass Industry (2024) (draft for comments). The document mentions that cement clinker and flat glass projects that are filed or newly expanded to increase capacity are strictly prohibited. If it is necessary to build or renovate, a capacity replacement plan must be developed and implemented. The energy efficiency of new production lines must reach the energy efficiency benchmarking level for the cement and glass industry specified in the Industrial Key Energy Efficiency Benchmarking Level and Baseline Level (2023 Edition).

The following are some of the contents of the document:

Please use the capacity indicators for replacement strictly according to the capacity determined in the filed or approved documents of the project. The cement clinker production line capacity used for replacement cannot be split and transferred. The capacity of the flat glass production line, which has been required to stop production by local governments due to force majeure for more than three years, can be used for replacement before the end of June 2025, but not after June 2025. For newly built cement clinker production lines located in areas designated as key regions for air pollution prevention and control or provinces with a cement clinker capacity utilization rate of less than 50%, capacity replacement from outside the province should not be used as a principle.

In terms of the ratio of cement clinker capacity replacement, the ratio of replacement construction projects in key areas for air pollution prevention and control and non-key areas should not be less than 2:1 and 1.5:1, respectively. The capacity replacement ratio is defined according to the construction location and area. The key areas for air pollution prevention and control are defined by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council's Opinions on Fully Strengthening Ecological Environment Protection and Resolutely Winning the Battle for Pollution Prevention and Control and relevant documents of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. The capacity replacement ratio for the same legal entity and the same factory area is 1:1. When using cement clinker production lines restricted by the national industrial restructuring catalog as replacement indicators and cement clinker indicators for cross-provincial replacement, the capacity replacement ratio should not be less than 2:1. The capacity replacement ratio in the Tibet Autonomous Region is 1:1. For cement clinker construction projects that mainly use solid waste such as industrial waste residue and tailings and have a limestone substitution rate of not less than 90%, an equivalent replacement can be implemented within the province.

In terms of the proportion of flat glass capacity replacement, the proportion of replacement construction projects for flat glass should not be less than 1.25:1 and 1:1 in key areas for air pollution prevention and control and non-key areas, respectively. The capacity replacement ratio is defined according to the construction location and area. Photovoltaic rolled glass projects can be built through capacity replacement, and the replacement ratio is implemented according to the above regulations, and the capacity can be used for replacement again.