Shanghai Baosteel Ltd recently signed a contract with the construction headquarters of the Sutong Bridge, becoming the first and only domestic supplier of steel to be used for the cables on a cable-stayed bridge.

The Sutong Bridge will connect Nantong and Suzhou, two cities of east Jiangsu Province. It's also an important section of the national trunk route running between Jiayin in Heilongjiang Province and Nanping in Fujian Province.

The bridge is 32.4 kilometers in length and sees a total investment of 6,450 million yuan (US$ 797million). It's design represents three world records in terms of the height of the main tower, at 306 meters; the length of the main cable, at 580 meters; and the span of the main beam, at 1,088 meters.

Before winning the contract, Baosteel established a special project team on Sutong Bridge, the main research subject being the specifics for the steel demanded by the bridge.

The steel wire produced by the 'B87 Mn QL' machine subsequently developed by the project team has been judged to be not just suitable but of unprecedented quality by domestic experts in bridges, smelting and materials.