VietNam Business: steel

Showing posts with label steel. Show all posts

Friday, February 4, 2011

Steel trade decreases on global market

Industry insiders have reported the local steel sales dropped 41 percent in September thanks to the world market.

"September's decline was not expected. We forecast that the price of steel ingots would go through the US$600 per tonne mark but instead it dropped to US$580," said the Vietnam Steel Association's Deputy Chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi.

Steel sales in September surprised experts by dropping 41 percent over August to 283,000 tonnes.

Nghi added that due to the low price of pig iron on the world market, Vietnamese consumers are still waiting for further reductions.

Because of this, the decline has continued into the first few days of this month.

Meanwhile, he added, traders have been selling off their steel stocks.

Due to the situation, many companies and agencies have cut prices by roughly VND300,000 ($15) per tonne to stimulate the market.

According to a report by the association, the price, excluding value-added tax, is now standing at about VND13.6 million (US$697 ) per tonne.

The association said the situation would steady itself in the second half of October, as the rainy season ends and demand for construction steel picks up.

"In addition, when steel stocks are sold out, traders will be forced to renew their supplies and consumption will increase," Nghi said.

He added that demand on the world market is also increasing which would help push the price back up.

Talking about sales for the whole year, Nghi optimistically said that they would increase by 15 percent over last year.

"Because of high consumption in previous months, the dip in September will not affect sales for the whole year," he explained.

Last year, the country consumed nearly 4.2 million tonnes of steel.

Worldwide steel production may plateau over the next five years as a result of environmental pressures and smaller demand increases.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Steel sales slip in September

Steel sales in September surprised experts by dropping 41 percent over August to 283,000 tonnes.

"September's decline was not expected. We forecast that the price of
steel ingots would go through the 600 USD per tonne mark but instead it
dropped to 580 USD," said the Vietnam Steel Association's Deputy
Chairman Nguyen Tien Nghi.

Nghi added that due to
the low price of pig iron on the world market, Vietnamese consumers are
still waiting for further reductions.

Because of this, the decline has continued into the first few days of this month.

Meanwhile, he added, traders have been selling off their steel stocks.

Due to the situation, many companies and agencies have cut prices by
roughly 300,000 VND (15 USD) per tonne to stimulate the market.

According to a report by the association, the price, excluding
value-added tax, is now standing at about 13.6 million VND (697 USD) per
tonne.

The association said the situation would
steady itself in the second half of October, as the rainy season ends
and demand for construction steel picks up.

"In
addition, when steel stocks are sold out, traders will be forced to
renew their supplies and consumption will increase," Nghi said.

He added that demand on the world market is also increasing which would help push the price back up.

Talking about sales for the whole year, Nghi optimistically said that they would increase by 15 percent over last year.

"Because of high consumption in previous months, the dip in September
will not affect sales for the whole year," he explained.

Last year, the country consumed nearly 4.2 million tonnes of steel./.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Ba Ria-Vung Tau says no to steel projects

HCMC – The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau will not license new steel projects from now on as such projects consume much electric power and water, which proves a big burden for the locality, said a leader of the province.

Ho Van Nien, vice chairman of the province, told the Daily late last week that because the province is facing a severe shortage of power and water for industrial production, so it will definitely reject new steel projects in the coming years.

As observed by the Daily, Ba Ria-Vung Tau is having the most licensed steel projects in the country with 18 projects, including 10 projects outside the national master plan for steel industry development approved by the Government. Steel projects in the province have a total capacity of some 3.7 million tons of ingots and 3.3 million tons of other steel products.

Nien said that to cut down the unwanted steel projects in the locality, the province has just required related agencies to consider revoking four steel projects that are moving at a snail’s pace. However, he did not mention the names of the four steel projects that will possibly be cancelled in the coming days.

Nien said that the axe could fall on more steel projects beside the four just mentioned, adding that the provincial government would only retain those steel projects that produce high-grade products.

“In the time to come, the province will call investors for projects that consume less power and water due to the limited supply capacity in the province,” he said.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Weak oversight leads to violations in essential sectors

Customers buy petrol at a station on Lang Street, Ha Noi's Dong Da District. A lack of strict management within the petrol and steel markets is said to be a primary cause for the violations taking place in these sectors. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Dong

HA NOI — A lack of strict management on the petrol and steel markets is said to be a primary cause of the violations taking place in these sectors, according to the Government Inspectorate.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved the Government Inspectorate's recommendations for State management of imports and exports to achieve stabilisation in the petrol and steel markets.

Speaking at a press conference in Ha Noi on Tuesday, deputy chief of the Government Inspectorate Nguyen Van San said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) had not closely co-ordinated with provincial People's Committees and industrial park management boards, leading to ineffective investment.

San said the ministry had been slow to withdraw automatic import licences. He added that these have contributed to a high inventory level of steel, which, in turn, has affected business operations and caused banks to retract capital.

The Government Inspectorate said the ministry has not accurately reported the amount of imported steel and their control over market stabilisation on steel products for the Viet Nam Steel Corporation is limited.

The report showed that in 2008 alone, the corporation's profits reduced by VND600 billion (US$30.7 million), while profits at the Thai Nguyen Steel Company dropped by more than VND200 billion ($10.2 million).

The Government Inspectorate attributes this to the fact that the ministry had not taken strict measures to prevent the situation—it did not establish an inspection team on steel production and business activities.

Violations

The inspectors said the ministry did not carry out an inspection of petrol businesses, and thus did not follow the Inspection Law's Decree 55 on petrol business inspection.

MOIT granted business registration licences to 11 import firms but did not punish businesses that imported less petroleum than the stipulated minimum import quota.

In the 2008-09 period, six businesses violated the regulations with the lowest rate at 46 per cent.

The Government Inspectorate also discovered that the Transport Construction Company and the Truong Son Construction Company exported over 121 tonnes of petrol to Cambodia without permission from the ministry in 2009. The lack of investigation and punishment has led to increasing fraud in the sector. The Market Watch Department uncovered over 14,000 cases in 38 provinces and settled over 2,600 violations.

Inspectors added that the co-ordination between MOIT and the General Customs Department in controlling petrol export activities had not been effective, leading to exports of 100,000 tonnes of petrol without reports to the ministry.

They also pointed out the ministry's shortcomings in monitoring the operations of the Dung Quat Oil Refinery, which has resulted in a lack of transparency in business and State budget's receipts.

MOIT was asked to review and evaluate distribution systems to map out a complete development plan for the import of construction steel.

Banks' wrongdoings

Ngo Van Khanh, director of the Government Inspection's general affairs inspection department said that in the third quarter of the year, Government inspectors checked the interest rate-subsidised lending of five commercial banks: Military Bank (MB), Viet Nam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) and Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank).

All the five banks had violated Decision No 131/2009/QD-TTg regulating procedures for granting short-term loans, Khanh said.

The lending period was restricted to the second quarter of 2009, but some banks expanded the period and other banks lent to those who were unqualified to received the subsidy, Khanh said.

State Bank Governor Nguyen van Giau said that banks had to correct their faults by recalling loans provided to unqualified customers. Khanh said that the MB was reclaiming money from 22 wrong customers from the 26 to whom they lent. — VNS

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Land ready for steel, power, port project

The management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central province of Ha Tinh handed over last Friday 3,300 ha of land and sea surface to Taiwan's Formosa Group, investor in a US$16billion industrial complex.

The project includes a 7.5 million ton/year steel mill, a 1,600MW power plant, and the Son Duong Seaport which will have a handling capacity of 30 million tons of cargo per year.

The area comprises more than 1,900ha of land and over 1,300ha of sea surface.

Ha Tinh authorities said nearly 2,500 households with a population of more than 10,000 in the communes of Ky Lien, Ky Long, Ky Loi and Ky Phuong in Ky Anh District had moved to new re-settlement areas during the site clearance process which lasted over two years.

Members of families affected by the project received over VND1.9 trillion ($100 million) in site compensation and had been supported by the province's job-training programs, the authorities said.

In addition to the site clearance, the authorities also built a canal over 10km long to supply water to the refinery and a 5.2-km road for transporting heavy machinery and equipment for construction of the Son Duong Deep water Sea port.

According to Sai Gon Economic Times newsmagazine, the Taiwanese group has also decided to raise investment in the first stage of the project from $7.9 billion to $8.9 billion.

Total investment of the two stages of the project amounts to $16 billion.

The project is expected to employ 10,000 local workers when the first stage is completed and the figure can increase to 30,000 after completion of the second stage.

Chu Xuan Pham, an engineer with Hung Nghiep Formosa Co, said construction of the steel refinery would be completed in 36 months and building of Son Duong Port to be completed in 48 months as required in the company's investment license.

Global steel production may plateau in 5 years

Photo: Reuters

TOKYO - Worldwide steel production may plateau over the next five years as a result of environmental pressures and smaller demand increases, one of the world’s top steelmakers said in a report Monday.

JFE Steel of Japan told the Financial Times that annual output would rise as high as 1.6 billion tons by the middle of the decade and then stay roughly constant for 5-10 years.

The flattening of production would result from shortages of key resources as well as the likelihood of only relatively small rises in demand, JFE chief executive Eiji Hayashida told the newspaper.

"In this environment, the pressures will be on steel companies to move to more advanced and valuable forms of steel to suit the needs of new industries, rather than add to production volumes," Hayashida said.

The biggest hindrance to future output rises, according to the JFE chief, would be growing constraints on water and energy supplies amid deepening worries about climate change.

Many steelmakers were also concerned about their ability to pass on to customers the large recent increases in iron ore prices.

This year JFE expects to make 30 million tons of steel, with the figure likely to rise to 33 million tons in 2011 following plant expansions, the Financial Times said.

The World Steel Association trade group opened its annual conference in Tokyo on Monday.

Land ready for steel, power, port project

Contractors remove sand for a steel mine in Thach Khe District, central Ha Tinh Province. The province has handed over 3,300ha of land and sea surface for projects in Vung Ang Economic Zone. — VNA/VNS Photo Cong Tuong

HA TINH — The management board of Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central province of Ha Tinh handed over last Friday 3,300 ha of land and sea surface to Taiwan's Formosa Group, investor in a US$16billion industrial complex.

The project includes a 7.5 million tonne/year steel mill, a 1,600MW power plant, and the Son Duong Seaport which will have a handling capacity of 30 million tonnes of cargo per year.

The area comprises more than 1,900ha of land and over 1,300ha of sea surface.

Members of families affected by the project received over VND1.9 trillion (nearly $100 million) in site compensation and had been supported by the province's job-training programmes, the authorities said.

In addition to the site clearance, the authorities also built a canal over 10km long to supply water to the refinery and a 5.2-km road for transporting heavy machnery and equiment for construction of the Son Duong Deep water Sea port.

According to Sai Gon Economic Times newsmagazine, the Taiwanese group has also decided to raise investment in the first stage of the project from $7.9 billion to $8.9 billion.

Total investment of the two stages of the project amounts to $16 billion.

The project is expected to employ 10,000 local workers when the first stage is completed and the figure can increase to 30,000 after completion of the second stage.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Cleared land ready for Formosa steel project this month

HCMC – The central province of Ha Tinh will hand over 3,300 hectares of cleared land for Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Co. Ltd. this month so that the company could boost construction of its huge steel complex project, the provincial chairman said.

Vo Kim Cu, chairman of Ha Tinh Province, told the Daily on the phone on Tuesaday that site clearance of land for Formosa steel complex project was nearly complete.

“The province will definitely complete the site clearance and will hand over all cleared land for the project’s developer within this month,” he said.

Cu said the Taiwan-based Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Co. Ltd. has expressed its eagerness to carry out the project by raising the total investment capital of the project’s first phase from US$7.9 billion to US$8.9 billion.

Total investment for the whole project in Vung Ang Economic Zone was pledged at some US$16 billion.

At the moment, the company is constructing some basic infrastructure works such as roads, boarding houses for workers, water and electricity supplies and land leveling.

“As committed, the company will start operation of the first phase of its steel plant within three years after the project owner is given cleared land, while part of Son Duong Port will begin its operation within four years,” said the provincial leader.

Main components of the steel complex project include a steel plant with total capacity of 7.5 million tons per year, Son Duong port with an annual throughput of 30 million tons, and a thermoelectric plant with an output of 1,600MW.

According to the province’s chairman, when the project’s first phase starts its production, it will create jobs for some 10,000 locals, and the number will triple to 30,000 after the two phases are completed.

“The project will help boost economic development for not only Ha Tinh, but also Quang Binh and Nghe An provinces,” Cu said.

However, a source of Vietnam Steel Association commented that although the project broke ground in 2008, it had barely made a move because of slow site clearance. This stagnation prevents the company from signing contracts for acquiring facilities from Europe to build the plant.

The Formosa steel complex is a sprawling one, encompassing five villages in Ky Anh District. To make room for this huge complex, some 1,800 families have been relocated to other places.

Cleared land ready for Formosa steel project this month

Vo Kim Cu, chairman of Ha Tinh Province, told the Daily on the phone on Tuesaday that site clearance of land for Formosa steel complex project was nearly complete.

“The province will definitely complete the site clearance and will hand over all cleared land for the project’s developer within this month,” he said.

Total investment for the whole project in Vung Ang Economic Zone was pledged at some US$16 billion.

At the moment, the company is constructing some basic infrastructure works such as roads, boarding houses for workers, water and electricity supplies and land leveling.

“The project will help boost economic development for not only Ha Tinh, but also Quang Binh and Nghe An provinces,” Cu said.

The Formosa steel complex is a sprawling one, encompassing five villages in Ky Anh District. To make room for this huge complex, some 1,800 families have been relocated to other places.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Vietnam bans steel projects using old technology

Vietnam bans steel projects using old technology The government has announced it will stop licensing steel projects using outdated technology, following complaints of inordinate power consumption by local steel producers.

Some provinces have approved steel projects that use energy inefficient and environmentally harmful technologies, and this is one of the reasons behind the country’s high power consumption, the government said in a statement on its website Tuesday, citing Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang.

Hoang said such projects as well as others outside the government’s plan for the industry are banned with immediate effect.

According to the development plan set for the industry, it was to have an output of 15-18 million tons of steel products by 2020. However, with aggressive and haphazard licensing, the combined capacity of existing projects has already reached 60 million tons per year.

National power utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) last week said part of the responsibility for power shortages in the country lay with steel producers, many of whom were using outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

EVN requested the government to tighten controls over the production technology used at steel plants. Large steel producers should be compelled to build their own power plants, it said.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Vietnam bans steel projects using old technology

Hoang said such projects as well as others outside the government’s plan for the industry are banned with immediate effect.

EVN requested the government to tighten controls over the production technology used at steel plants. Large steel producers should be compelled to build their own power plants, it said.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Imbalance in steel industry

Imbalance in steel industry At first glance, the figures do not make sense.

Vietnam has a surplus production of about three tons of steel every year, and yet, every year, it also imports four million tons of the alloy.

The mystery is easily solved, but the problem is not.

The surplus production is of construction steel and imports are of steel billets needed for industrial production.

“The rampant development of construction steel mills has created a surplus. Their combined capacity is some eight million tons per annum, far exceeding the demand of five million tons,” Dinh Huy Tam, general secretary of the Vietnam Steel Association, told Thanh Nien Weekly.

Meanwhile, investment in turning out steel for industrial sectors like ship building and mechanical production is still limited, so Vietnam has to import most of the products. Each year, the country imports some 4 million tons of hot-rolled steel to serve these sectors.

According to a recent report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the country has 74 steel projects with a combined investment of nearly US$22.2 billion in 30 cities and provinces.

However, none of these are plants that can turn out steel for industrial sectors. “Construction of some projects has been delayed,” Tam said.

Investors are not keen on producing steel billets because of the large investments and high technological requirements involved, said Le Manh Hoan, vice director of steel producer Dinh Vu.

The investment capital for a plant producing this kind of steel needs at least $500-600 million, much higher than the $100 million or so needed for a construction steel factory.

The investment exceeds a local firm’s capacity, so they need to cooperate with other firms to get involved in the business, said an industry insider. However, such cooperation has not been looked into seriously.

Rising imports

Tam said it was only after 2000 that some firms began producing steel billets, but their output only meets 60 percent of the local demand.

The mills produce some three million tons of steel billets each year, much lower than their designed capacity of 4.5 million tons. Some small-scale mills lack the ability to run at maximum capacity, while others are learning still about the technology that they have just begun applying, Tam said.

Firms often import steel scrap to produce steel billet instead of getting the raw material from mines, said Tam. As of now, the Thai Nguyen Steel Mill is the sole producer of billet from mines, with an output of some 250,000 tons each year.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

India's Tata Steel may seek $5.4 bln loan: report

Photo: Reuters

NEW DELHI - The world's seventh-largest steelmaker, Tata Steel, is in talks with banks for a US$5.4 billion loan for its British unit Corus, a report said Saturday.

The Economic Times newspaper said BNP Paribas, HSBC Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland may be among the banks contributing funds for the 3.5-billion-pound ($5.4 billion) loan.

The report noted that Tata Steel chief financial officer Koushik Chatterjee said last month that the Mumbai-based steelmaker planned to refinance as much as $6.5 billion of its long-term debt.

Tata Steel took loans to fund its $13 billion acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus in 2007, just before the global financial crisis hit demand for steel.

There was no immediate company comment on the report, which cited unidentified sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

In August the company posted a consolidated net profit for the three months to June of 18.25 billion rupees ($388 million) against a loss of 22.08 billion rupees a year earlier.

Tata Steel, whose shares have fallen 13 percent this year, issued a cautious outlook with its results, saying the long-term sustainability of its recovery was "highly dependent on future growth in the European construction sector."

Friday, October 8, 2010

Steel producers cop power shortage blame

Workers at a steel plant in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. National power utility Electricity of Vietnam said many steel producers in the country use outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

National power utility Electricity of Vietnam, regularly criticized for frequent power shortages and blackouts nationwide, this week pointed the finger at steel producers.

According to the utility, also known as EVN, part of the responsibility for power shortages in the country lay with steel producers, many of whom use outdated technology that consumes a large amount of power.

There are 65 steel projects in the country and even though they only operate at 50 percent of their capacity on average, they already consume about 3.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year, EVN said in a report submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

In order to meet their demand, the power sector has spent an estimated VND35.5 trillion on power generation and transmission facilities. As a result, power supply to other industries as well as for domestic purposes has been affected.

EVN requested the government to tighten control over the production technology used at steel plants. In fact, large steel producers should be compelled to build their own power plants, it said.

Cheap prices

EVN said steel plants in Vietnam buy electricity at around 4.78 US cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to 8.12 cents in Thailand and 14.1 cents in Singapore.

Many foreign steel producers invest in Vietnam only because they want to take advantage of the low power prices and then export their products, the power utility said.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Energy Institute, power demand in Ho Chi Minh City only grew 7.7 percent over the 2008-2009 period even though the southern hub generates the highest GDP in the country.

Meanwhile, some other provinces reported much higher growth rates in power use because they house many power-consuming projects, the institute said. Power demand in the northern province of Quang Ninh, for instance, where there are large steel projects, increased by more than 15 percent during the period.

Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, admitted that most steel producers in the country use outdated and energy inefficient technology.

It requires 700 kilowatt-hours to produce one ton of steel billet and 120 kilowatt-hours to make one ton of products from the billets, Cuong said. That compares to per capita electricity consumption of only 867 kilowatt-hours per year in Vietnam.

An EVN official said the use of old production technology is a reason behind Vietnam’s power shortage. “It takes between three and four years to build a power plant, so if power-consuming projects continue to be licensed like now there will never be an end to power shortage.”

Power consumption in Vietnam is expected to surge by 17.63 percent this year.

The government said in a report last month that power cuts between April and July had negative impacts on production and daily life around the country. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked that construction of new power projects be speeded up and measures taken to ensure enough supply in coming years.

However, there has been no indication thus far that steel producers will be told to upgrade their technology and ensure efficient operations that will help the industry consume less power.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Steel producers cop power shortage blame

National power utility Electricity of Vietnam, regularly criticized for frequent power shortages and blackouts nationwide, this week pointed the finger at steel producers.

EVN requested the government to tighten control over the production technology used at steel plants. In fact, large steel producers should be compelled to build their own power plants, it said.

Cheap prices

EVN said steel plants in Vietnam buy electricity at around 4.78 US cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to 8.12 cents in Thailand and 14.1 cents in Singapore.

Many foreign steel producers invest in Vietnam only because they want to take advantage of the low power prices and then export their products, the power utility said.

Pham Chi Cuong, chairman of the Vietnam Steel Association, admitted that most steel producers in the country use outdated and energy inefficient technology.

Power consumption in Vietnam is expected to surge by 17.63 percent this year.

However, there has been no indication thus far that steel producers will be told to upgrade their technology and ensure efficient operations that will help the industry consume less power.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Domestic steel prices rise

HA NOI — Steel prices increased from Monday, while experts expected the prices to continue rising next month.

Nguyen Tien Nghi, deputy chairman of Viet Nam Steel Association, said some steel producers had announced increased prices because of higher prices of pig iron and scrap metal.

Prices jumped from US$600 to $620 per tonne for pig iron and $350 to $380 per tonne for scrap metal.

The devaluation of the Vietnamese dong versus the US dollar was another reason for the price increase, Nghi said.

Steel bars and wire rods produced by the HCM City based Viet Nam Steel Corporation (VNSteel) increased by VND200,000-300,000 ($10.25-15.38) per tonne to VND14.98-15.2 ($768.2-779.5)million for steel products.

Steel produced by the Pomina Steel Corporation (Pomina) also increased by an average VND330,000 ($16.9) per tonne to VND14.7 million ($753.8).

Nghi said steel was one of the commodities that was the most difficult to set a long-term forecast for, especially at the moment because steel makers had to import 70 per cent and 47 per cent of pig iron and scrap metal, respectively, for domestic production. The domestic price of steel products would continue to increase in the coming time if the prices of material for steel production surge further on the world market, he said.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade expected that the world iron ore price might increase because India intended to increase the export tax rate for iron ore to 20 per cent to restrict exports.

The domestic increase in prices began in July after four previous reductions in previous months.

Nghi said the association expected sales of steel this month to decline to 350,000-400,000 tonnes of steel against the sale at 460,000 tonnes in July due to the impact of recent storms. — VNS

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Gov’t orders check on Guang Lian steel project

HCMC – Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has told the Ministry of Industry and Trade to check the ability of mobilizing investment capital for Guang Lian Dung Quat steel project.

The order comes after the project developer proposed expanding the designed production capacity from five million to seven million tons a year.

According to a document issued by the Government Office, Hai also required the industry and trade ministry to check the product lines of this large project and report the results to the Government within this month.

An official of the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) told the Daily on Monday that it was necessary to carefully scrutinize whether the project developer could raise as sufficient capital as needed to ensure the viability of the long-delayed project.

The project has been underway for over four years but has turned out no steel products.

Guang Lian Steel Vietnam Limited Company as developer of the project in the central province of Quang Ngai has asked the Government and relevant ministries to allow it to raise the production capacity.

The output adjustment will send the total cost of the project in Dung Quat Economic Zone rising to US$5 billion from the previous US$3.5 billion, the official of VSA said. “The project has changed hands four times so far.”

The steel association official said the proposal for scaling up the capacity of the project could be seen as a time-buying tactic as the investor had difficulty mobilizing enough capital for the project.

The official, who declined to be named, said the association also petitioned the Government to ask Quang Ngai Province to set a deadline for the developer to finish the whole project; otherwise, the investment license would be revoked.

The official described the proposal of Guang Lian Steel Vietnam Limited Company as irrational. The investor wanted to increase steel production by two million tons a year, but they suggested boosting their annual processing capacity by only 500,000 tons of cast iron as the main material.

Dung Quat Economic Zone Authority says on its website that while waiting for approval for expanding the production capacity at the steel mill, piling work is still taking place so that factory construction can start early next year.

The authority said Guang Lian steel project was licensed in 2006 and that the groundbreaking ceremony took place a year later.

According to the newly-proposed plan of Guang Lian Steel Vietnam, construction of the first phase is scheduled to finish in late 2013 and the steel mill would be up and running after that.

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