“中国能源走廊”探访

China's rising energy corridor

从榆林到鄂尔多斯的200公里沿线，正在成为中外能源巨头的投资热地。但是尚无定论的开发模式、脆弱的环境承载能力等因素也为“能源走廊”的明天投下阴影。

Across the boundary between Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia, there exists a 200-kilometer-long road connecting Yulin and Erdos, two major coal cities. Under the two cities' 120,000-square-kilometer area lies the world's seventh largest coal mine-Shenfu Dongsheng Coal Mine, with a reserve of 230 billion tons. The huge coal reserves have attracted hundreds of investors from local, other provinces and even other countries. A government document shows that in the coming five years there would be as high as 500 billion yuan (US$ 62.5 billion) investment flowing into this 'energy corridor'. Some of the largest enterprises investing in Yulin and Erdos, including Shenhua Group and Yuanzhou Coal Group, have invested tens of billions yuan in the research of coal-to-liquid scheme and plans to produce the first barrel of oil liquefied from coal by 2008. At the meantime, the interest conflicts between local enterprises and those 'outsiders' have grown more serious as the outsider giants take a controlling status in the exploration and development of the coal mines. This area is also paying heavy costs for its resource-based development as air pollution, water shortage and ground sinking poses threats to the local people's lives.