Since China's State Council approved a pilot plan on structural adjustment of the steel industry in Shandong Province, the provincial authorities have been studying and drawing up specific implementation plans related to the elimination of backward steel production capacities, as reported by China's official Xinhua news agency on November.
Within the scope of the plan, the restructuring of the steel industry in the province will emphasize reduction and control of total steel output, optimizing industrial layout and product mix, saving energy and reducing emissions, and raising the degree of concentration of the local steel industry by means of mergers. According to the plan, Shandong Province is expected to become a model area in terms of recycling of iron and steel and monitoring of carbon emissions.
As a major steelmaking province in China, Shandong boasts a number of major steel mills such as Jinan Steel, Laiwu Steel, Rizhao Steel and Qingdao Steel, with a combined annual steel output capacity in the province of 63.07 million mt, which is roughly 10 percent of the national total, and the third highest among all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in the country.
According to Shandong's 12th five-year plan, by the end of 2015 there are expected to be five or six steelmakers in the province, compared to 21 today.