China is planning to lower the population threshold in Chinese cities for urban rail construction, a move which would give new opportunities to the domestic steel industry and stimulate demand in the finished steel market, as reported by China-based Economic Information Daily.
At present, in China urban rail networks can only be built in cities with populations greater than 3 million, while a population threshold of 1.5 million is now under consideration. Accordingly, about 90 cities could qualify for the construction of urban rail networks, which would significantly boost demand in the domestic steel market.