Steelmakers in the center of China’s top steelmaking hub of Tangshan in Hebei Province have been ordered to step up their production controls from CST 12:00 August 18 to CST 12:00 August 21, in anticipation of poorer pollutant diffusion conditions, according to the notice from Tangshan city government.
During the given period, only one sintering machine at the northern plant of Tangshan Steel is allowed to continue operations, while Huaxi Steel and Guoyi Steel are permitted to run two sintering machines, respectively.
Other steelmakers in the Lubei, Kaiping, Guye and Fengnan districts, in Luanzhou city and in Luannan county are required to trim their sintering capacity by at least 50 percent. Large steel mills in Tangshan were ordered to cut utilization rates by 30 percent starting from the beginning of August.
In the period in question, coke plants in the region are required to suspend coal feeding and coke production, while cement clinker producers, except for those who need to treat sludge, are required to stop operations. Lime and brick-tile kilns have been ordered to halve capacity.