China has halted plans to build new aluminum plants in the country to tackle serious over-capacity in the industry, the official China Securities Journal reported on Monday, citing Su Bo, a vice industry minister.
The move will put all planned aluminum projects with a combined investment of more than 70 billion yuan ($11 billion) on hold, the newspaper said.
China Non-ferrous Metals Industry Association said the aluminum industry produced 17.8 million tonnes of aluminum on 21-million-tonne capacity, indicating the rate of capacity utilisation was about 85 percent, the paper said.
But a recent report by the State Council, or the cabinet, showed that the capacity utilisation rate was only 60 percent, the newspaper said.
Currently, aluminum projects under construction involved total spending of more than 20 billion yuan, the newspaper.
China had in the past used heavy-handed measures to tackle rapid expansion of some industries, including steel and cement.
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