The landmark buildings and industrial facilities of Shougang
Group, a major Chinese steel producer, will be preserved and molded
into a "post-industrial culture creation zone" after its relocation
to neighboring Hebei Province, the municipal planning
committee said Friday.
Beijing's planning body has finished compiling a "renovation and
transformation plan" for Shougang, formally known as the Beijing
Capital Iron and Steel Group is often referred to, saying the old
site will serve as a recreational center where people can trace the
history of the capital's industrial development.
Beijingers have mixed feelings about Shougang. On the one hand,
they are glad to see one of the city's worst polluters relocate. On
the other, "old Beijingers are reluctant to lose the memory of
Shougang. It is a precious industrial legacy for Beijing," said an
official with the planning committee, who declined to be named.
According to the plan, Shougang's old site will blend in with
Beijing's urban development to create a "Central Recreation
District (CRD)" in the western district of Shijingshan.
Company president Zhu Jimin told Xinhua earlier that part of the
plan is to build an industrial museum there.
However, given the duration of the project, construction plans
may be altered to meet Beijing's new needs.
Shougang, built in 1919 and located 17 kilometers west of
Tian'anmen Square, is building a new plant in Caofeidian, a small
sand spit in Hebei Province 220 kilometers east of Beijing. The
relocation will be completed by 2010.
For years one of the city's worst polluters, Shougang will cut
production at its Beijing plant by 4 million tons this year and an
additional 4 million tons in 2008.
Zhu said Shougang would "maintain minimum operations" during the
2008 Olympic Games with production of 4 million
tons.
By 2010 all Shougang's steel production will have been
transferred to its new Hebei site.
The new plant will adopt environment-friendly technologies to
minimize emission and waste discharge. An evaluation by the
country's environment watchdog shows the new plant will ensure 99.5
percent of the solid waste and 97.5 percent of waste water are
recycled.
Shougang produced 12.5 million tons of steel last year, earning
revenue of 87 billion yuan (US$11 billion).
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2007)
