2 million tonnes fresh steel making capacities are coming up in Bangladesh which will significantly increase imports of Scrap, Pig iron and DRI
The steel industry in Bangladesh is currently experiencing an upsurge in demand. This growth is driven mostly by government spending on infrastructure projects, which accounts for 40% of steel consumption in Bangladesh.
According to a recent study, it was assessed that over 2 million tonnes steel melting capacities are coming up in Bangladesh by 2017-2018.
Current steel melting capacities stand at over 3 million tonnes in Bangladesh. Abul khair being the largest with an annual capacity of 1.8 million tonne followed by BSRM (Bangladesh Steel Rolling Mill) with an installed capacity of over 0.8 million tonnes.
Other manufacturers are in the process of either setting up new melting units or expanding the existing ones. Prime reason is consistent increase in import duty on billets over last few years by Bangladesh government.
Country has an annual requirement of around 4 million tonnes of billet, out of which 1.5 million tonnes is being imported and rest is either produced domestically or generated through ship cutting plates.
Expansions
Other players are in the process of scaling up their capacities. For instance GPH ispat has signed an agreement with Primetal for setting up an EAF, which can produce over 0.8 million tonnes of billet per annum.
Similarly, KSRM (Kabir Steel Rolling Mill) is in the process of setting of 0.5 million tonne furnace. BSRM is adding another 0.5 million tonnes of furnace in near term.
Rani Rolling Mill (RRM) is coming up with an EAF of 0.5 million tonne. Other top players like Anwar group, RSRM, SRM, Rahim Group , SSRM, Mohammadi Steels, Magnum Group, SS Steel are in talks for expanding their steel melting capacities.
An induction furnace supplier claims that inquiry for 12 MT and 15MT furnaces have increased from Bangladesh based manufacturers in last few months. He also mentions that increased duty on imported billet, quality issues in using ship cutting plates are prompting people to go for induction furnaces.
Scrap Imports will Increase Sharply
Scrap imports to Bangladesh will increase in coming years looking at fresh steel making capacities. Country currently imports over 2 million tonnes of scrap, which is likely to go up to 4-4.5 million tonnes.
Bangladesh has potential to become Asia’s 4th largest scrap importer after Korea, India and Taiwan.
Imports of other metallic like Pig iron, HBI and Sponge Iron will also pick up in same proportion.
Source: SteelMint Events
Leave a Reply