Hebei Province, China’s main steel production hub, will continue to strengthen its efforts to eliminate overcapacity and to prohibit unauthorized new production capacities, by shutting down blast furnaces (BFs) below 1,000 cubic meters and converters below 100 mt by the end of 2022, while only making an exception for pig iron and special steel enterprises, according to the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission.
Accordingly, leading steel enterprises in Hebei will be encouraged to implement strategic mergers and reorganization, and thereby Hebei Province will ensure its top 10 steelmakers’ capacity will account for more than 70 percent of the overall capacity in the province.
In 2021, Hebei had eliminated a total of 38 BFs and 27 converters to reduce energy consumption and air pollution.