ADB loan to fight air pollution in greater Beijing

A couple tackle the pollution in a shopping district amid heavy smog after the capital issued its first ever "red alert" for air pollution on Dec 8, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday that it has approved a loan of $499.6 million for a green financing platform targeting the air pollution-heavy greater Beijing area.

The platform -- the first of its kind for the region -- will mobilize domestic financing for many sectors, including energy, transport, and agriculture, to improve air quality, according to an ADB statement.

The targeted region includes Beijing, Tianjin, and the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for about 60 percent of industrial pollution, lack the experience to tackle pollution as well as access to commercial credit to switch to cleaner processes, the bank said.

The green financing platform is expected to overcome critical barriers and result in easy access to commercial credit for SMEs.

Last year, the ADB approved a loan of $300 million for regulatory reform in Hebei province, which has the worst air pollution in China.