On December 27, Wuzhou, Guangxi Province-based Chinese steelmaker Yongda Steel held a ceremony to mark the start of construction of a new stainless steel production facility.
Upon completion, Yongda Steel's new stainless steel production facility will be able to produce 1 million mt of flat stainless steel products and 0.3 million mt of HRB 500E stainless rebar every year, equal to an annual output value of RMB 14.18 billion ($2.14 billion). Investment in phase 1 of the project will reach RMB 350 million ($52.9 million). Phase 1 will produce 0.6 million mt of stainless slab and 0.3 million mt of stainless rebar every year, with an annual output value of RMB 6.9 billion ($1.04 billion). Construction of phase 1 is expected to be completed in August 2011.
On December 15, the municipal authorities of Wuzhou reached agreement with Yongda Steel to provide 350 acres of land, while Yongda Steel will invest a total of RMB 800 million ($120.84 million) in the three phases of the stainless steel production project.