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China to clamp down on new aluminium projects |
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| CHINA: December 10, 2002 | ||
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BEIJING - China, faced with a growing glut of aluminium, will restrict the building of new smelters and shut those which are inefficient or belch pollution, the official China Daily said on the weekend.
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"We have to maintain a prudent attitude on (new) projects for aluminium smelter construction," the newspaper quoted Wang Xiaoqi, deputy director of the Industrial Planning Bureau under the State Economic and Trade Commission, as saying. "We cannot approve setting up a new smelting project where there is no market demand," Wang said. Aluminium Corp of China (Chalco) (2600.HK), the country's monopoly alumina producer, said earlier this week it expected to meet an alumina output forecast of 5.7 million tonnes in 2003, up from an expected 5.1 million to 5.2 million tonnes this year. Alumina is the raw material that is processed into aluminium. Some analysts have said this year's output estimate is conservative because of rapid capacity expansion. China is expected to make 4.3 million tonnes of aluminium this year, up from 3.4 million tonnes last year, according to a forecast by state-owned metals analyst group Beijing Antaike Information Co. Smelter construction in some places was "overheated", and China would target those operating in regions with high production costs and poor transportation for closure, Wang said. The government was already moving to rein in the expansion by clamping down on approval of new projects, tightening down on financing and shutting plants that pollute the environment, Wang said.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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