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China has saved about 60,000 hectares of arable land over the past two years because traditional clay bricks have been phased out in favor of new wall materials in 170 cities nationwide.

The National Development and Reform Commission said the achievement is helpful in protecting arable land and curbing serious soil erosion.

"We need to solidify the achievements and spread the practice to other cities," a commission official who declined to be named told China Daily.

All the provincial capitals will have to stop the use of clay bricks by the end of 2005, said the official.

The central government first decided to clamp down on clay bricks in 1999 in 160 cities in coastal and eastern areas of China, where average arable land per capita was below the UN desired minimum level - 0.8 mu (0.053 hectare) - before June 1, 2000.

"This year we are extending our plan to western major cities, which are expected to set a good example for other cities within their provinces on this issue," said the official from the commission's Department of Resources Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization.

"We must be alert because the situation of land consumption and soil erosion in parts of China is appalling," said the official.

Statistics indicate that every year more than 1.2 million mu (80,000 hectares) of arable land has been destroyed to make more than 700 billion clay bricks nationwide.

But since the government decided to phase out clay bricks, nearly one half of the country's 12,000 brick factories which cover key tracts of land have been closed through 2003.

But it is expected that the country will build up to 1.7 billion square metres of new buildings annually.

"The reality is tough and we need to earnestly conduct our phase-out strategy to replace the bricks," said the official.

Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province, has taken the lead in the new practice.

The city government began banning the use of clay bricks in 1998 and all local brick-making plants were ordered to phase out production of solid shale bricks by 2001.

Zhao Jianhua, director of the Wall Component Innovation Office under the city's construction authority said using a hollow shale brick is a new solution because it can make building structures less dense and the bricks are also environment-friendly.

(China Daily March 3, 2004)