How many backward cement production capacity will be eliminated in China from 2010 to 2012? "First Financial Daily" learned from people familiar with the situation on March 24 that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's preliminary intention is to eliminate a total of 300 million tons of backward cement production capacity in the next three years.

According to the people familiar with the situation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to launch a document tentatively named "Implementation Plan for the Elimination of Underdeveloped Cement Production Capacity" in April this year, which will determine the quantity and nature of underdeveloped production capacity (the number and which capacity belong to underdeveloped production capacity), and clarify the respective tasks of the central and local authorities. Reporters learned that the reason why the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is still only putting forward a preliminary elimination figure is that there is no final conclusion on how many backward capacity industries there are in China.

At an internal meeting of conch cement in early March this year, Conch Cement executives thought that the government might formulate a plan to phase out 500 million tons in three years. However, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology disclosed at the 2010 International Cement Week that the Cement Association and other departments did calculate "about 500 million tons of backward capacity at present", but according to the various understandings of their departments, the overall backward capacity in China may be more than 300 million tons.

"Three-year elimination of 300 million tons of capacity" may be stricter than previous policies. Last year, China added 300 million tons of new cement production capacity, and the overall eliminated cement production capacity was more than 74 million tons. In the "Several Opinions on Accelerating the Structural Adjustment of the Cement Industry" formulated by the government in 2006, it was also pointed out that during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, China should eliminate 250 million tons of backward cement production capacity, with an average of 50 million tons annually. Therefore, in terms of the elimination amount of 300 million tons in three years, the average backward production capacity of cement eliminated in one year is 100 million tons. The aforementioned official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said: "In the next three years, 300 million tons of capacity will not be eliminated 100 million tons per year, but how many."

The above-mentioned people told reporters that there are two backgrounds for the introduction of the new phase-out implementation plan: one is that last year the State Council published "Some Opinions on Suppressing Overcapacity in Some Industries and Guiding the Healthy Development of Industries through Repeated Construction"; the other is that domestic cement industry is overcapacity, and at present advanced cement production capacity accounts for about 70%. The ministry official said that although the state had requested that all cement projects that had not started before September 30 last year should not be rebuilt, there were still projects under construction. If completed, there will be a serious surplus of capacity in the future.

For which cement kilns belong to backward production capacity, the above-mentioned insiders said, will be further defined, such as the vertical kiln under 3 meters is definitely to be eliminated; and for example, "Jiantong kiln" this non-new dry kiln should be treated, from the current point of view does not belong to backward production capacity, but if enterprises want to build such capacity, they need certification, in principle, strict prohibition in the east, strict restrictions in the middle. A small amount is reserved in the west. Other cement kilns should also be taken as special cases, such as dry process hollow kiln production of special cement, although the quantity is not large, but still retain.

(China Cement Network)