On March 29, construction work started on the Panbao steel trading center, which is expected to be the largest steel trading center in southeastern China, in Jiangjin Shuangfu New District in the city of Chongqing City, as reported by Chongqing Economic Times. Three Chinese enterprises in the World Top 500 companies, namely, China Minmetals Corporation, Shagang and China Railway Group Limited, have already signed up to participate in the new steel trading center.
Total investment in the trading center is expected to reach RMB 1 billion ($159 million). The construction project will be divided into two phases. The first, for the commercial market section, covering an area of 266,680m 2, will allow thousands of enterprises to do business and will have an annual turnover of RMB 50 billion ($7.937 billion). The second is the shearing and distribution section, which is expected to achieve an annual output value of RMB 50 billion ($7.937 billion).