Masteel to build 3 mln-ton production base in Anhui
Shanghai. December 31. INTERFAX-CHINA - Maanshan Iron and Steel Group(Masteel Group)plans to build a 3 million-ton long steel product production base in Chaohu City's He county, Anhui Province, in 2010, state media reported on Dec. 29.
According to a Hefei Evening News report, Masteel will invest RMB 30 billion ($4.39 billion) into the construction of the new production base. No other details have been reported.
"In recent years, the Chinese government have encouraged large state-owned steel mills to produce flat steel products instead of long steel products, which resulted in a shortage of long products on the market this year. In 2009, prices of long products on the domestic market have been around RMB 100 ($14.65) to RMB 200 ($29.29) per ton higher than that of flat products. So it is unsurprising that Masteel will carry out such an investment next year," Bai Rui, general manager of the steel department of Shanghai-based Mysteel Information told Interfax.
Furthermore, Xinjiang Bayi Steels (Group) Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China's leading steelmaker Baoshan Iron and Steel Group (Baosteel Group), also plan to invest RMB 10 billion ($1.46 billion) to build a 3 million-ton steel product production base in Baicheng county, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, next year, according to a recent China Metallurgical News report.
China's crude steel production capacity reached above 700 million tons by the end of 2009.
-XH