Illustrative image (Source: VNA) The firm, which will haveoperations in Vietnam, will be in charge of ascertaining the trends in steelindustry development across the world and the region; assessing the domesticsteel sector’s competitive ability in comparison with the world and the region;choosing contractors and technology; and evaluating the sector’s impact on theenvironment.
The ministry said it had takeninputs from experts and the public about steel production and steel projects inthe past and that it would now appoint a foreign consulting company for moreassessment.
The assessment of the draft planis scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2017.
Minister Tran Tuan Anh has tolddrafters of the master plan that the country would not damage its environmentfor these projects. Not only the state agencies but also social organisations,the media and the public would take part in the supervision of steel projects.
The first draft of the masterplan was made public this November for ideas and suggestions from relevantministries, sectors and units. Based on the inputs, the ministry on December 13issued a revised draft master plan for more recommendations on itswebsite moit.gov.vn.
The second draft had significantrevisions, including the deletion of 12 small-scale, ineffective projects,following suggestions from the provinces.
The ministry will continue tocollect inputs from scientists and experts in the areas of economy, finance,environment, water, climate change and tourism, based on which it will completethe third draft of the plan, which will be sent to the prime minister forapproval in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Over the past several years, thesteel industry has made important development progress, by increasingproduction capacity and adopting eco-friendly advanced technologies.
In 2015, Vietnam became thelargest steel consumer in the Southeast Asian region. The country’s steelproduction and distribution have met its demands for construction steel, whichis around six million tonnes of the total demand of 20 million tonnes.
Several domestic businesses haveequipped themselves with modern technology and are focused on making long-terminvestments in steel ingot production, thus creating a strong foundation forthe sector’s growth.
However, there are hurdles thatneed to be crossed. The planning of steel projects is not systematic and not insync with the diverse demands of the economy.
The sector’s moderate capacityto produce six million tonnes of steel ingots serves the construction steellamination industry. In 2015, the country was short of 15 million tonnes ofcrude steel, and steel imports touched 6-7 billion USD, affecting the balanceof trade and sustainability of the macro economy.
Faced with this situation,Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung had asked the MoIT to revise the masterplan so as to meet the demand for steel in the future. The plan will have tofocus on sustainability, on reducing the imbalance between production anddistribution, and the use of advanced technology to save natural resources,energy and protect the environment, moving towards the elimination ofsmall-scale production workshops with old technology. — VNA
VNA
