SteelAsia taps Italian firm to build steel mill in Quezon province

STEELASIA Manufacturing Corp. has tapped Italy’s Danieli Co., Ltd. to build its heavy steel sections mill in Candelaria, Quezon.

Under the agreement, Danieli will supply all the core equipment and technology required for the P30-billion steel mill project.

Using Danieli’s green technologies, the Candelaria mill is expected to have one of the lowest carbon footprints among steel plants worldwide, with a projected reduction of 2 million tons of carbon dioxide.

“Steel is the base development of any country. This is laying the foundation of future development in the Philippines, and this is what we are seeing everywhere in the world,” said Danieli Chief Executive Officer Giacomo Mareschi Danieli in a statement on Monday.

The steel mill will be the first facility in the Philippines capable of producing heavy beams, angles, channels, sheet piles, and narrow plates, all of which are currently imported from China and Vietnam.

“Sections are most suitable for seismic zones or typhoon belts such as the Philippines because of their tensile strength advantages over reinforced concrete,” SteelAsia said.

Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPIEA) Frederick D. Go, who attended the signing ceremony, said SteelAsia’s investment is the kind of project the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. seeks to attract.

“We want these kinds of investments to rebuild our economy and move from a consumption-based economy to a more sustainable investment-led economy,” Mr. Go said.

According to SteelAsia, the Philippine construction sector is expected to benefit from the new mill through cost and time savings once operations commence in 2027.

“Delivery lead times, particularly for infrastructure projects, will reduce from three months for imported steel to just two weeks locally,” the company said.

“By substituting these imports, the country will also benefit by avoiding the purchase of US dollars,” it added.

Once operational, SteelAsia’s section mill in Candelaria, along with its facility in Batangas, will help the country replace $1.2 billion worth of steel imports annually.

“It will really help our country’s self-sufficiency and reduce importation dependence from international suppliers,” SteelAsia said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile