November 21, 2008

Small and medium steel mills cut production due to Olympic

According to Mr Sun, owner of a private steelmaker, small and medium scale steel makers in Qian'an have generally cut production by 30% to meet the environmental standard."

As Qian'an is close to Qinhuangdao, one site of the 2008 Olympic football game and adjacent to Beijing-Shenyang superhighway, many small and medium scale steel mills in the town have had to reduce steel output since early May.

Facing the pressure of environmental protection, Mr Sun's mill has cut down production from 5000 tons to 3500 tonnes per day which is up to the standard for pollution discharge. Moreover, the company will invest more in environmental conservation equipments, which normally account for 10% of the total fixed assets.

Numbers of steel mills alike present fairly high initiative in acquiring such equipment In order to survive. Meanwhile, large state owned steel mills like Tangshan Steel and Shougang have not been seriously impacted from the output control factors.