SteelAsia plans to expand exports

COMPOSTELA, Cebu — As it continues to expand operations to be the country’s premier steel manufacturer, a SteelAsia official said that they are planning to expand its exportation to various countries, as they already tried sending their products abroad.

“The demand remains high, that is why we are serious in our exportation efforts. But we've had the chance to export. I think we've had 6 shipments already to Canadian Subway System,” Rafael Hidalgo, senior vice president for business development of Steel Asia, told members of the media during a plant tour on Thursday in Compostela, Cebu.

Hidalgo said that SteelAsia had exported around 35,000 tons of rebars steel, or P300 million per order.

He said the export stint all began when they “reaped satisfied and happy customers” after they participated for the construction of Cebu-Cordova Bridge here in the province.

“Even this year, we already had four shipments to Canada. We also had shipments in the past years and the contractor was ACCIONA, which is also the contractor for the Vancouver, Canada, South Coast region,” he added.

The Cebu–Cordova Link Expressway, also known as the Cebu–Cordova Bridge, is an 8.9-kilometer (5.5 miles) toll bridge expressway in Metro Cebu.

The bridge connects the South Road Properties in Cebu City in mainland Cebu, and Cordova, on Mactan island.

Earlier, SteelAsia revealed that it had secured an P8.3-billion loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and Philippine Business Bank (PBB) to complete its P18-billion steel section mill in Lemery, Batangas.

Benjamin Yao, SteelAsia chairman and CEO, said steel is an investment priority of the Marcos administration, and its Batangas plant is a testimony that the Philippines is finally on its way to having its own steel industry.

The plant in Lemery, Batangas will be the Philippines’ first steel sections mill and will be fully commissioned in 2025, substituting the importation of steel sections products like H beams, I beams, and angle bars that are used for infrastructure like bridges, railways, high-rises, industrial buildings, telco towers, and transmission towers.

The mill will be the company’s 7th plant, the others being rebar producers. Apart from rebar, the Philippines imports over 80 percent of its steel requirements.

SteelAsia is the Philippines' flagship steel company and industry leader.

The company operates steelmaking, rebar manufacturing, and rebar fabrication plants in Bulacan, Batangas, Cebu, and Davao.

In 2022 the company embarked on a five-year development plan to rebuild the Philippine steel industry.

The Lemery Section Mill is the second in the pipeline.

In October 2023 SteelAsia commissioned operations of the world's most modern rebar mill, a P10-billion investment in Compostela Cebu.