A senior Chinese construction official said Friday that the launch of heating reform in China's urban areas will offer huge business opportunities for domestic and overseas enterprises.

Li Dongxu, Director of the Urban Construction Department of the Ministry of Construction told Xinhua that as the Chinese government had decided to launch pilot heating reform in the northern area, heat will become a commodity with a huge market in China.

Among the 662 cities in China, 304 have a heating supply infrastructure. Li said the ministry welcomed enterprises to participate in the construction and operation of the heating supply industry.

State-owned heating supply enterprises were also encouraged to reform into modern enterprises with outside investment, said Li.

Li said that with the progress of heating reform, China would further open its heating supply market to foreign capital, which would improve the country's heating service level. The reform will also change heating charge standards from the housing area to heating consumption. Li Xiu, president of the China District Heating Association, said this change would create a large market in China for heat measuring equipment.

Li said there were only 63 domestic and foreign-funded calorimeter factories in China, and the reform had required all new buildings in areas with central heating to be equipped with calorimeters and heat control valves.

Old buildings would also be required to fit the equipment. Li said facing such great demand, China would encourage more foreign and domestic factories to join the market and reduce cost through technical innovation.
 
(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2003)