According to a statement from Chinese steelmaker Chongqing Iron and Steel on August 24, the first phase of its new relocated facilities in Changshou, Chongqing with an annual capacity of 6.5 million mt will put into production in June 2011, with Chongqing Iron and Steel expecting to become the largest shipbuilding steel production base in China by then.
Chongqing Iron and Steel's chairman Dong Lin stated that in 2008 the company's output of shipbuilding plate was 1 million mt, ranking eleventh in the domestic steel industry, while in 2009 its output of this product only dropped six percent while overall production of shipbuilding plate in China declined by 24 percent, with its shipbuilding plate output ranking fifth in the domestic industry. As regards 2010, since the successful run of its first production line (4,100 mm wide plate line) in its relocated facilities, the company's annual shipbuilding plate output is expected to rank among the first three in China.
In recent years, Chongqing Iron and Steel's shipbuilding bulb steel made to European standards has received certificates from seven national classification societies; meanwhile, the steelmaker's share in China's domestic market for this product has reached 60 percent, the company chairman said. Mr. Dong also said the company would focus on the development of new kinds of shipbuilding steel.