POSCO, the country’s leading steelmaker, was granted approval by the Chinese government to build a steel mill there with an annual capacity of 3 million tons, the company said Wednesday.

Once the company gets the green light from the South Korean government, POSCO will build the facilities in the southwestern city of Chongqing, which will produce steel using the firm’s self-developed Finex technology.

The development comes less than two years after the company and Chinese steelmaker Chongqing Iron & Steel inked a preliminary deal in September 2013.

It will be the first time the company has exported its eco-friendly steelmaking technology. POSCO officials said that other countries, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Iran, had also expressed interest in the technology.

POSCO’s Finex technology processes fine ore with non-coking coal to make high-quality steel at a significantly lower cost.

(monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)