The Vietnam Steel Corporation (VSC) is now preparing for negotiations with India’s Essar Group on establishing a joint-venture to build a hot laminated steel plant with total investment of US$300 million in southern coastal Ba Ria-Vung Tau province’s Phu My Industrial Park 1.
The plant is designed to turn out 2 million tons a year and will be built in two years.
The project is expected to considerably reduce Vietnam’s annual import of flat steel including steel ingot and hot and cold laminated steel.
According to VSC, Vietnam is estimated to import 3.6 million tons of flat steel each year. Meanwhile, the country currently has only one cold laminated steel plant – the Phu My cold laminated steel plant in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province – with total capacity of 200,000 tons per year. Its annual capacity is scheduled to be raised to 600,000 tons in the coming years.
At present, Essar is cooperating with VSC in building the feasibility study for the US$3 billion Thach Khe steel complex with an annual capacity of 4.5 million tons of flat steel in central Ha Tinh province.
Essar has expressed its intentions to pour money into Vietnam’s steel industry in recent years. It is now operating in the fields of iron and steel, energy, seagoing vessels, construction, oil and gas and telecommunications. Its total assets are estimated to reach US$4.4 billion.
Currently, VSC focusing on the US$135 million Phu My steel ingot and laminated steel plant which has a capacity of 500,000 tons of steel ingot and 400,000 construction steel a year and is scheduled to become operational in the second quarter of this year, and the 500,000-million-ton Thai Nguyen steel ingot plant at a cost of US$50 million in northern Thai Nguyen province.
VSC is also awaiting a license from the Ministry of Planning and Investment for projects to exploit the Quy Xa steel mine in northwestern Lao Cai province and build a steel ingot plant with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons in cooperation with a Chinese partner. This project has total registered capital of US$175 million, of which VSC will make up 45 per cent.
Investment
Vietnamese
