Representatives of JFE Steel Corp, the second largest Japanese steelmaker after Nippon Steel, have met with authorities of Quang Ngai Province to discuss a huge steel mill project in Dung Quat Economic Zone.
Le Van Dung, vice director of Dung Quat Economic Zone Authority, told the Daily on the telephone yesterday that the company would spend some $5 billion on the project with the first-phase annual capacity of five million tonnes, mainly for export.
JFE Steel's products will be mainly for the automobile, shipbuilding and mechanical engineering industries, he said, and the Vietnamese government last year gave approval in principle to the investor to study and develop the project.
JFE has been making a pre-feasibility study for submission to the Vietnamese government and if approved, the project will be included in the country's steel development plan.
At the meeting, the company said it would need detailed information about the environment, geology, electricity and expansion plan for Dung Quat Economic Zone in the future.
Le QuangThich, vice chair of the province, said on the province's website that the province would help JFE Steel Corp. do the pre-feasibility study.
Thich also asked the investor to soon submit the pre- feasibility study to Quang Ngai authorities, who will send it on to the Ministry of Industry and Trade this year. JFE Steel Corp's plan is "envisaged setting up a new company in Vietnam to develop the project on 1,000 hectares in the zone. The project is expected to employ between 2,000 to 3,000 workers, two-thirds of them engineers and skilled workers.
It will also build a port for importing raw materials, including iron ores and coke, and exporting the factory's products. The company will import raw materials from Brazil and Australia. The project will markedly contribute to the development of the automobile, shipbuilding and mechanical engineering industries, as most local steel manufacturers produce construction steel, Dung said.
JFE Steel Corporation's project, if approved, will become the second large-scale steel project in Dung Quat Economic Zone after Tycoons and E-United, which will cover a combined 455 hectares.
Tycoons and E-United expect to start commissioning the first phase in 2010, with an annual capacity of three million tonnes of steel ingots and hot rolled steel rods. The investors plan to increase output by two million tonnes of steel annually, including heavy gauge plate and hot rolled coil in the second phase, to reach full capacity in 2013. Its output will be for both local sale and for export.
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