China says 16.9 mln T steel capacity must be shut by Feb 2010

China has urged local governments to finish shedding 16.91 million tonnes of unsafe and outdated steel production capacity by the end of February, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday.

More than 21 million tonnes of inefficient iron smelting capacity, 1.62 million tonnes of steel alloy capacity and 313,500 tonnes of electrolytic aluminium capacity have also been targeted in a long-standing campaign aimed at cleaning up and streamlining China's industries.

The ministry said outdated heavy industrial facilities throughout China were hindering its efforts to improve work safety, improve energy efficiency and combat pollution.

Environmentally unsafe paper mills with a total output of 500,000 tonnes, along with 50 million tonnes of outdated cement capacity, must also be eliminated by the end of February.

The targets also include citric acid facilities, alcohol distilleries and glassmaking plants.

The major steel-producing province of Hebei in northern China needs to meet a target to close as much as 9 million tonnes of iron smelting capacity and 4 million tonnes of steel output before the February deadline.

Jiangsu province on the eastern coast will also be expected to complete the closure of 2.45 million tonnes of iron smelting and 5.47 million tonnes of steel smelting capacity.

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