China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) have jointly issued guidelines to boost application of high-strength steel in construction.
According to the guidelines, the country will eliminate the use of 335MPa tensile rebar by 2013 and gradually raise the ratio for production and application of 500MPa rebar. High-strength products will account for 80% of China’s rebar output and 65% of domestic building bar consumption by the end of 2015.
There will also be an increase in R&D activity for the production and application of 600MPa rebar, say the guidelines.
An official with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said that using high-strength steel products to replace the currently widely-used 335MPa rebar could save steel products consumption by more than 12%. This equates to 10Mt of steel bars annually, which accordingly will save 16Mt/y of iron ore consumed and reduce emissions of CO2 by 20Mt/ based of the figures for 2010.
The ministries have also considered establishing relevant guarantee mechanism to promote the application of high-strength products. Some provinces will be selected as demonstration areas.
Source: China Metals e-mail [email protected]