China’s ambitious plans to build roads, railways and ports in countries along its Belt and Road initiative could boost steel demand by an additional 150m tonnes and keep Chinese steel mills running for the next decade, according to the world’s largest mining company.

President Xi Jinping’s plan to revive the ancient Silk Road as well as a maritime route to east Africa could double the growth rate of steel demand in China as the country’s companies secure the lion’s share of the overseas contracts for construction materials and equipment, BHP Billiton said.

“This will drive demand for raw materials,” Arnoud Balhuizen, head of marketing at BHP, one of the world’s largest producers of steelmaking ingredient iron ore, said in Singapore. “This extra steel demand will ultimately be met by China.”