Korean Giant Mulls US$1Bln Steel Mill in Central Vietnam
Dongkuk Steel Group, South Korea’s third largest steel producer, is seeking to build a US$1 billion steel factory in central Quang Ngai province’s Dung Quat Economic Zone, said the provincial People’s Committee.
The mill, set to cover an area of 300 hectares of land, will manufacture steel bars, steel sheets and other steel products for the Vietnamese market.
Detailed information about the mill’s capacity and construction plan are not yet available.
If approved, it will be the second US$1 billion steel project in the zone, after the one being built by a Thailand-based arm of Taiwan’s Tycoons.
Many foreign steel giants are awaiting permission to invest in Vietnam’s steel industry as the country is viewed as a gateway to the Southeast Asian market - the world's largest steel importer.
Vietnam still imports high-quality steel products as domestic producers cannot make them.
The country is forecast to need ten million tons of steel of different kinds by 2010, 15 million tons by 2015 and 20 million tons by 2020. (Thanh Nien Online, VNA)
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