In October 2004, the CITIC Construction Consortium officially signed the general contract for the Newcastle No. 2 Coke Oven Renovation and Coal Gas Purification Project in South Africa. The plant adopted China's proprietary coking production technologies and equipments manufactured in China. The project, as the first general contract project undertaken by a Chinese firm in South Africa, was owned by Arcelor Mittal Group, the largest steel corporation in the world. The project had been completed ahead of schedule.