The Dinson Iron and Steel Company (DISCO), a subsidiary of the private company Tsingshan Holding Group in east China's Zhejiang Province, has started production of pig iron in Manhize, a town in the Midlands Province of Zimbabwe, marking a milestone in the revival of the country's iron and steel industry.

"This really is a very joyous occasion to see the first stage of production of iron from Manhize," said Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando in an interview with Xinhua after touring DISCO's plant Thursday.

Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is the direct product of the blast furnace and yields steel, wrought iron, or high-purity iron when refined.

The production of pig iron, which commenced last week, sets the stage for steel billet production, which is expected to begin next month.

Chitando said DISCO is expected to produce 600,000 metric tons of carbon steel in the first phase of the project, rising to 1.2 million, then 3.2 million, and ultimately 5 million metric tons per year in the final phase.

He said the development is a testament to China-Zimbabwe cooperation. "Zimbabwe and China have got long-standing political relationships, and here we now have economic relationships cementing that political relationship."

Wilfred Motsi, project director for the Dinson Group, said the development marks a huge milestone in Zimbabwe's manufacturing industry.

"We are going back to our glory days when Zimbabwe was known as one of the industrial hubs in southern Africa because of the opening of the steel industry," Motsi said. "We are no longer talking about the steel industry being dead in Zimbabwe. Yes, some players were there, but (they) were producing at a small scale, but our coming in means that we have revived the iron and steel industry in Zimbabwe."