According to a statement from the local government, Xinyu plans to start the construction of two blast furnaces with a total capacity of about 4.4 million tons per year, and the furnaces are scheduled to be commissioned by December 2025.
In order for the factory to be able to add new facilities, China's long-standing capacity swap guidelines require it to stop and scrap old plants with at least the same productive capacity that were in operation at the time. Therefore, before commissioning the new furnaces, Xinyu plans to dismantle the existing four blast furnaces with a capacity of 4.8 million tons per year.
“Although the total capacity of the new blast furnaces is slightly lower than that of the existing furnaces, (the project) is still a step towards upgrading the entire company,” the Xinyu representative said.
Xinyu Steel is an integrated steel manufacturer, as well as the largest plant in Jiangxi Province, which produced 10.14 million tons of steel in 2021. In April 2022, Capital Operation Holding Group, a state-owned company led by the Jiangxi government, signed an agreement with Baowu, agreeing to transfer the last 51% of its stake in Xinyu for free. Last November, Baowu officially became the controlling shareholder of Xinyu Steel after receiving approval from the state.
In 2021, Baowu Group became the first in the world by producing 120 million tons of steel. The company took a leading position in global steel production for the first time in 2020 with an indicator of 115 million tons.
China's steel companies increased their steel production by 5.6% to 168.7 million tons in January-February 2023, compared to the same period of 2022. According to Worldsteel, in January 2023, the country produced 79.5 million tons of steel, which is 2.3% more than in January 2022. Thus, production in February was approximately 89 million tons.
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