VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Industry and Trade still advocates for large-scale steel projects as it will next week ask the Government to give a stamp of approval to expand the country’s master plan for steel development

“The addition of the lately-approved steel projects and others that already had memorandums of understanding into the master plan is based on a forecast of the demand for steel products both domestically and internationally in the future,” Quang said.

Some of the mass steel project suggested for inclusion into the master plan are Formosa – Sunco Steel Complex in Ha Tinh Province, a steel project of the joint-venture between Vinashin and Malaysian Lion Group in Ninh Thuan Province, a joint-venture steel project between Vietnam Steel Corporation and Indian Tata Group and some other smaller ones.

According to the national master plan for the steel industry in the 2007-15 period that was approved by the Government in September 2007, the total annual demand for finished steel products of the country is some 6.5 million tons by to 2010 and up to 24 million tons by 2025. The demand this year is expected to be some less than five million tons.

The industry and trade ministry says there are five large steel projects that are waiting for investment certificates from authorities, and when all these projects are commissioned, they will turn out over 40 million of products a year, nearly twice the domestic demand by then.

Asked if the ministry is worried over the likely worsening of the environment when these steel projects are put into place, deputy minister Quang said all the foreign-invested steel projects currently awaiting approval would employ modern technologies to minimize impacts. Some even have plans to build their own power stations to serve their own production, and target to export some 50% of their outputs.

However, Quang still showed concerns about the possible environment impacts where the mass steel mills are located as well as the exhausted energy required for steel complexes, including electricity and coal.

Relevant State agencies are mostly capable in evaluating and granting licenses at the first stage, but they are unable to keep watch of post-license operations of steel projects, Quang said.

Talking to the Daily late last week about the development of mass steel projects in the country in the future, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha suggested prudence in licensing such projects.

“The approval for mass steel projects needs to take into careful consideration three important criteria, comprising the real steel demand of the country, the supply of energy for steel production, and environment impacts,” he said.

All steel projects need to follow closely these three criteria, he said, adding “I think the development of such mass steel projects is not necessary for the country at the time being.”

Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of Vietnam Steel Association, said that with the real demand of steel products for Vietnam and for some countries in the region for the next five years, “it’s better and suitable for the country to have just two more steel complexes with total capacity from five to ten million tons.”

“A booming steel industry could lead to some undesired issues such as a supply glut, and fierce competition between steel manufacturers in favor of foreign-invested ones,” Cuong told the Daily on Wednesday.

(Source: SGT)