World-class recycling, designs and efficiency from Germany

The government of the Guangdong port city of Zhanjiang is extending a warm welcome to German investors, highlighting opportunities in the mega steel, petrochemical and papermaking complexes under construction in the city.

The iron and steel facility by Baosteel Group, the leading steel maker in China, is scheduled to be operational in September next year with an annual capacity of 10 million tons of steel, said Zhanjiang Mayor Wang Zhongbing at an investment promotion seminar held in Dusseldorf, Germany on July 2.

The facility is focused on the market in South China as well as Southeast Asia in industries including automobiles, home appliances, construction, shipbuilding and machinery, said Chen Qiang, assistant to general manager of Baosteel Europe.

The petrochemical joint venture between Sinopec and Kuwait Petroleum Corp will include a refinery to process 15 million tons of crude oil a year and an ethylene plant with annual output of 800,000 tons. Operation of the refinery will begin in 2016 and the ethylene plant will go online in 2017.

Both the steel and petrochemical facilities are located on Donghai Island, the fifth-largest island in China.

Papermaking plants in Zhanjiang by Chenming Group and Guangdong Guanaco High-Tech Co will have combined capacity of 3 million tons of paper products.

Rich opportunities

"With the construction of steel, petrochemical and papermaking projects accelerating, investment opportunities will abound in sectors including materials for steel production, auto parts, machinery, electronics, propylene, chemicals, packaging and printing as well as forestry equipment and logistics," Wang said.

As Zhanjiang plans to develop a park using recycled byproducts and even waste from the steel and petrochemical complexes only 500 meters apart, the city looks to Germany for inspiration.

"We will draw on the experience of industrial parks in Germany to reduce the burden on the environment from local industries in Zhanjiang and raise efficiency in the use of resources."

Germany is advanced in manufacturing and not only has world-class production technologies and management expertise, but also rich experience in the circular economy, Wang said.