Yu Ziquan, president of Guangdong Iron and Steel Association, has called for early approval of Zhanjiang Steel Project, a high quality steel production base in Guangdong with an annual capacity of five million tons. He noted steel consumption in the province now amounts to 50 million tons, whereas total output still falls short of 20 million tons. We have to purchase over half of our steel requirements from places outside the province, which has led to an increase in the production costs of the local manufacturing industry. The Zhanjiang project won't be endorsed unless the Guangdong government eliminates 15 million tons of outmoded steel capacity.