Shandong Province-based Chinese steel producer Shandong Iron and Steel Group (Shandong Steel) has brought forward the schedule of its restructuring project for Rizhao Iron and Steel Co. (Rizhao Steel), another steelmaker in the province, with the restructuring of Rizhao Steel now to be completed by 2013, as reported by China-based First Financial Daily.
In 2011, Rizhao Steel achieved a pre-tax profit of RMB 6.37 billion ($1 billion). In line with the restructuring, Rizhao Steel is expected to achieve an annual production capacity of 8.5 million mt. The restructuring includes the construction of an iron ore wharf, a finished steel wharf, a 500 m2 sintering machine, a coke oven, a 5,100 m3 blast furnace, a 250 mt converter, a 180 mt converter, a 1,880 mm hot rolled wide strip line, and a 1,850 mm cold rolled wide strip line, while it also includes the relocation of Rizhao Steel's 4,300 mm wide plate production line.