Hebei Province-based Chinese steelmaker Hebei Iron and Steel Group announced on September 12 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a high-volume joint venture steel project in South Africa together with Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa and the China-Africa Development Fund. Hebei Iron and Steel Group will have a 51 percent stake in the joint venture.

The project will have an overall annual output capacity of 5 million mt and will be constructed in two phases. The first phase will have an annual capacity of 3 million mt of long steel. Construction work on the first phase will begin in 2015, while production is expected to start by the end of 2017. The second phase, with a planned annual output capacity of 2 million mt of flat steel, H-sections and steel rails, will be put into operation in 2019.