Beijing Shougang Group plans to reduce, but not halt, steel production during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and will relocate its Beijing plant by 2010, the group's chairman Zhu Jimin said during the fifth session of the 10th National People's Congress.

He said that Shougang will cut production by 4 million tons by the end of this year and will further cut production to 4 million tons in 2008.

"Shougang will continue production during the 2008 Olympic Games but will work to limit its impact on society at that time," Zhu said. The company plans to halt all steel production in Beijing by 2010 in order to reduce pollution.

"A company should consider not only its profits but also its social impacts," Zhu said.

He said that by the end of 2010, Shougang's entire operation will be relocated to Caofeidian, a tiny island 80 kilometers south of Tangshan. Shougang and Tangshan Iron and Steel Corp, China's sixth-largest steelmaker by output, set up a joint venture in Caofeidian in October of 2005.

Zhu said that Shougang's original site in Beijing will then be used for the development of high-tech industries.

"The general idea of the plan for the site is to redevelop it for research and design," Zhu said. "We also want to make it a site for big companies' headquarters."

He said the company has been working on the redevelopment plan for the site since the beginning of last year, and more experts will be brought in to help develop the final draft.

Source: China Daily