China’s State Council has recently approved a pilot plan on structural adjustment of the steel industry in Shandong province.
According to the plan, restructuring will lay stress on reducing and controlling the total steel output, optimizing the industrial layout and product mix, saving energy and reducing emissions, and raising the degree of concentration by merging operations. Shandong is expected to become a demonstration zone for recycling of iron and steel and a demonstration base for monitoring carbon emission.
The plan puts top priority on building a competitive steel production base in Rizhao City, home to Rizhao Steel Holding Group Ltd resulting in the capacity of Rizhao Steel Holding Group Ltd to eventually reach 21.35Mt, of which 11.35Mt are yet to be installed. The base will employ an advanced production dynamic control system for hot rolling and cold rolling, mainly targeting at producing products of high-tech content and high added value that are in short supply on the domestic market.
As a major steelmaking province in China, Shandong boasts a number of major steel mills such as Jinan Steel, Laiwu Steel, Rizhao Steel and Qingdao Steel, with a combined capacity of 63.07Mt/y, roughly 10% of the national total, and the third highest among all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the country.
According to the 12th Five Year Plan of the provincial authority, by the end of 2015, there would be five or six steelmakers in the province, compared to the 21 today.
Source: China Metals e-mail [email protected]