China’s Wuhan Iron and Steel (Wugang) is determined to make faster progress on its delayed 9 million tonnes/year Fangchenggang greenfield steelworks project, it says. The plant is one of three major new steelworks currently being built in China and had hoped to beat a rival project due to commission later this year, Kallanish notes.

The comments come as the group’s chairman and party secretary, Ma Guoqiang, visited southern Guangxi province, where the works is located. There, Ma met with Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region chairman Chen Wu to discuss the delay.

The Fangchenggang plant was planned to commission its first 2.1m t/y cold rolling mill in May, allowing it to start shipments before a rival project by Baosteel in neighbouring Guangdong province. Local analysts have confirmed that CRC production has not started although equipment installation began in October 2014.

Ma, who was previously president of Baosteel, said he hoped production would begin as soon as possible but did not set a date.

Baosteel’s rival Zhanjiang project plans to blow in the first blast furnace in September, begin production of hot rolled coil and plate in May 2016 and commission the first CRC mill in September 2016.