Caofeidian project commences work on February 26

Sources report that construction work on the Shougang Jingtang United Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. Project, jointly founded by Shougang and Tangshan Steel on Caofeidian Island on the coast of the province of Hebei in north-eastern China commences on February 26. The total investment for this project is estimated to reach RMB 67.7 billion ($8.74 billion). The first phase of the project is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2008, with production capacity at that stage reaching 4.85 million mt of steel. When construction is concluded at the end of 2010, the total production capacity will be 9.7 million mt of steel. The project includes four coke furnaces with 60 holes, two 600 m2 sintering machines, two 5,500 m3 blast furnaces, four 300 mt converters, one 2,250 mm hot rolling strip mill, one 1,780 mm hot rolling strip mill, one 2,230 mm cold rolling strip mill, one 1,700 mm cold rolling strip mill, and one 1,550 mm cold rolling strip mill.