Chinese state-owned iron and steel company China Baowu Steel Group Corp Ltd has unveiled plans to relocate its blast furnaces from Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the northwest of China to Cambodia, which will be the first overseas Baowu production plant, a Reuters report on Wednesday said.

The plan was welcomed by Cambodian officials and private sector representatives, who expressed hope that local steel production will help satisfy the growing demand for steel in the Kingdom as the construction sector continues to boom and materials flood in through imports.

Quoting a senior Baowu manager involved in the plan, the Reuters report said Baowu is looking at the feasibility of shipping two blast furnaces, with a combined capacity of 3.1 million tonnes, along with two converters to turn iron into steel, to Cambodia late this year.

The equipment to be moved would come from Xinjiang Bayi Nanjiang Steel Baicheng Co Ltd, a Baowu subsidiary based in Aksu city in far northwest China. The plant was shut down in 2017.

“The equipment may be seen as outdated in China, but it is still quite advanced in Cambodia,” Reuters quoted the manager as saying. The manager declined to be named as he is not allowed to talk to the media.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/china-steel-company-relocates-cambodia