Philippines’ SteelAsia Manufacturing has resumed the construction of its 1.1mn mt per year steel beams plant and plans to begin operating it in 2023.
The company had suspended construction in early 2020, after breaking ground in 2019, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and an uncertain economic outlook at that time. The steelmaker had also halted the construction of its steelmaking and steel section rolling sites at Lemery Works during that period.
SteelAsia plans to be the first steel beams manufacturing site in the country, according to media reports, and will produce H/I beams, heavy angles, sheet piles, and channels at the plant. These products are imported into the country at present.
The site will employ about 1,500 workers and thousands of more jobs are expected from the resulting supply chain. The site will also recycle steel scrap nearby to supply its steel production to reverse the present export of scrap in the region, per reports.
SteelAsia has production furnaces and rolling mills in Davo with a capacity of 500,000mt per year, Cebu with 300,00mt per year, Misamis Oriental (250,000mt per year), Batangas (500,000mt per year), and Bulacan (450,000mt per year). It also plans to expand in Compostela Cebu, Tarlac, and the Quezon Provinces. The company specializes in longs construction products including rebar.