Philippines' first steel beams plant to start operations 2023

The Philippines' first steel beams manufacturing plant is expected to start operations in 2023, four years after breaking ground, SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. said over the weekend.

Located in Lemery, Batangas, the facility will have a capacity of some 1.1 million tonnes per year. It will produce H/I beams, sheet piles, heavy angles, and channels that are all currently being imported into the country.

Construction of two productions -- steelmaking and steel section rolling -- was previously suspended due to the lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. It broke ground in 2019.

"The Lemery Works steel plant is of national significance as it will reduce our reliance on imports for important steel products needed for the government's ambitious infrastructure program," SteelAsia president Benjamin Yao said in an emailed statement.

Sections equipment manufacturer SMS of Germany and reheating furnaces pioneer Fives -- formerly Stein Huertey of France -- provided the design and supplied the equipment for the plant.

The facility is expected to create at least 1,500 direct jobs and thousands more from ancillary industries and businesses. It will also recycle steel scrap which is currently exported.

"When you export and process our resources abroad, it is creating jobs in another country. With this new plant, we will recycle our steel scrap here and generate local jobs," said Yao.

SteelAsia currently has plants in Davao, Cebu, Misamis Oriental, Batangas, and Bulacan. It is also putting up facilities in Compostela Cebu, Tarlac, and the Quezon Province. — DVM, GMA News