SteelOrbis Shanghai
On November 29, Hebei Provincial Government released the names of 26 out-of-date mills which are to be closed down. Of the mills named in this first wave of closures due to reasons of obsolescence, 16 are in Tangshan, while the others are distributed in Chengde, Handan, Shijiazhuang, Zhajiakou, Xingtai, and other areas. The iron-making capacity in question totals 3.98 million mt, while the steel-making capacity totals 3.73 million mt.
The task of eliminating out-of-date capacity is not an easy one for the Hebei Province authorities. Nearly 45 percent of the iron-making capacity and 27 percent of the steel-making capacity in the province are classified as out-of-date according to the relevant regulations.
During mid-November,
China's National Development & Reform Committee (NDRC), Ministry of Land and Resources, State Environmental Protection Administration, and the
China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) jointly issued an announcement stating that measures are to be taken to restructure Hebei's steel industry. Following its release of the initial list on November 29, the NDRC is planning to issue its second and third lists for the elimination of out-of-date mills next year.
During the period from 2003 to 2005, Hebei's steel
production jumped sharply from 40.35 million mt to 73.86 million mt. The province's total crude steel
production for 2006 is expected to reach 90 million mt this year - accounting for 21 percent of national steel
production. There are 202 iron and steel mills in Hebei Province, among which only 88 have steel-making ability. In addition, the average
production of these mills reaches a mere 839,000 mt per annum- lower than the average level for the whole country.