The undated photo shows employees work on the production line of a steel plant in Ma'anshan, Anhui province. (LUO JISHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING - China will continue to limit new steel capacity in key areas amid efforts to accelerate industrial upgrading and control air pollution, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Friday.

New or expanded steel smelting projects outside designated zones are prohibited in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

Efforts will be made to ensure that the country's key areas for air pollution control will not see an increase in total steel capacity, the ministry said in a document on revised measures to replace steel capacity.

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The key areas cover a wide range of provinces and cities in north, northwest, east and south China, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and the Yangtze River Delta.

New or expanded steel smelting projects outside designated zones are prohibited in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region, according to the ministry.

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The measures will go into effect on June 1, the ministry said