Authorities in the cities of Beijing and Shenzhen announced Sunday that they will close highly polluting and energy-guzzling factories over the next five years.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology said in a statement that it will ask small-sized polluters, as well as companies that consume large amounts of energy or have evident safety risks, to shut down or move out of the city.

Beijing will also set up small-loan lending firms, as well as township and residential community banks, to support small and medium-sized enterprises, the statement said.

Shenzhen, a southern economic powerhouse that borders Hong Kong, plans to shut down and shift 10,000 similar low-cost factories over the next five years.

The shut-down will give the local government 7.5 million square meters of land to develop into high-end industry, the Science, Industry, Trade and Information Technology Commission said.

Shenzhen mayor Xu Qin said 4,000 factories will be transferred to an industrial park in the neighboring city of Shanwei and 5,500 will be shifted to other cities in Guangdong Province.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2011)