BAOSHAN Iron & Steel Works (Baosteel) is to build an iron ore terminal with an annual handling capacity of 20 million tonnes.
Sources said the State Planning Commission had approved the 2.2 billion yuan (about HK$2.04 billion) project.
Construction of the terminal, on Majishan Island, 163 kilometres northeast of Baosteel's plant, is scheduled to start at the end of next year.
It will consist of a 250,000-deadweight-tonne berth and two 80,000-tonne berths.
Baosteel, which produces 7.5 million tonnes of steel a year, imports about 11 million tonnes of ore a year. Brazil supplies 40 per cent of this and Australia 35 per cent. The remainder is imported from South Africa and India.
The company will need 17 million tonnes of ore a year by 1997, when production capacity is raised to 11.5 million tonnes.