PHL’s first steel section plant seen to cut costs, create jobs
By Andrea E. San Juan | Business Mirror | April 29, 2024
THE Philippines’s first steel section plant, which will start producing beams and bars next year, is expected to bring down construction costs and generate tens of thousands of jobs for Filipinos as the industry reduces dependence on imported steel, according to SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp.
According to SteelAsia Chairman and CEO Benjamin O. Yao, the firm’s plant in Lemery, Batangas, will be fully commissioned in 2025 and will substitute the importation of steel sections products like H beams, I beams, and angle bars that are used for infrastructure like bridges, railways, high-rises, industrial buildings, telco towers and transmission towers.
Yao explained through a statement construction of its steel mill has progressed after the company secured last week an P8.3-billion loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Philippine Business Bank (PBB).
The P18-billion steel section mill in Lemery would be the company’s seventh plant, the others being rebar producers. Apart from rebar, the Philippines imports over 80 percent of its steel requirements.
With a “robust” local steel industry, Yao said he sees that construction costs would go down and create new manufacturing industries, along with tens of thousands of jobs.
The same statement quoted GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso as citing the importance of investing in infrastructure projects that “provide long-term sustainable returns.”
“By enhancing our country’s manufacturing capabilities, this project sets the stage for increased domestic production and economic resilience,” Veloso said.
“It addresses our need to reduce dependency on imported steel, which in turn helps balance our trade and keeps more capital within the Philippines. This not only strengthens our economic position but also supports our broader goals of nation-building,” he added.
SteelAsia is the country’s “flagship” steel company and industry leader. The company operates steelmaking, rebar manufacturing and rebar fabrication plants in Bulacan, Batangas, Cebu and Davao.
“It addresses our need to reduce dependency on imported steel, which in turn helps balance our trade and keeps more capital within the Philippines. This not only strengthens our economic position but also supports our broader goals of nation-building.”
GSIS President and General Manager Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso
In 2022, the participated in a 5-year development plan for the Philippine steel industry. Its Lemery Section Mill is the second in this pipeline. In October last year, SteelAsia commissioned operations of the world’s most modern rebar mill, a P10-billion investment in Compostela Cebu.
According to a story published by the BusinessMirror, UA&P economist Victor A. Abola said the Philippines could experience a construction and housing boom that may last three to four decades.
Source: Business Mirror
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