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Nippon Steel, Partners to Build Steel Pile Plant in Vietnam
Jul. 7, 2010
The vast majority of construction projects in Vietnam now utilize concrete-based materials, and the country’s cement consumption has reached 50 million tonnes, surpassing that of Japan at around 40 million tonnes.
Concrete piles have been used predominantly for such projects; however, Nippon Steel anticipates increased use of steel pipe piles, which are easier to penetrate deeply and are also lighter and more durable.
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Nippon Steel Corp. has announced that it soon begin construction of a new plant in Vietnam for the production of steel pipe piles and steel pipe sheet piles.
The company will build the new Vietnamese pipe plant — Nippon Steel Pipe Vietnam Co., Ltd. (NPV) — jointly with Vietnam Steel Corp., the sole state-owned steel company in Vietnam, and five Japanese trading companies: Metal One Corp., Sumitomo Corp., Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc., Hanwa Co., Ltd., and Nippon Steel Trading Co., Ltd. the authority (BIZA: Ba Ria-Vung Tau Industrial Zones Authority) has already granted the investment license for the project.
Built at a total investment of $31 million, the new plant will be located at Phu My II Industrial Zone in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in southern Vietnam. It will have an initial (Stage I) monthly capacity of 5000 tonnes of steel pipe piles and sheet piles. Scheduled to start up in May 2011, the new facility is expected to employ approximately 150.
Nippon Steel will retain a 51% interest in the new company, with remaining shares held by Metal One Corp. (20%); Vietnam Steel Corp. (10%); Sumitomo Corp. (4.75%); Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. (4.75%); Hanwa Co., Ltd. (4.75%); and Nippon Steel Trading Co., Ltd. (4.75%).
This is Nippon Steel’s first production base for construction steel outside of Japan. East Asian countries, in which Nippon Steel has been endeavoring to promote steel-based construction materials, are now entering an era of structural steel materials, and the company is confident that this development of a local supply capability in Vietnam will help to accelerate the growth in consumption of structural steel materials.