Vietnam-based Hoa Phat Steel has started ramping up its capacity expansion project as the economy starts to recover from the impact of COVID-19. At its Hoa Phat Dung Quat iron and steel integrated complex, the steelmaker has put BF 3 into operations and successfully run a hot test for its basic oxygen furnace no 4 in August. This BF 4 is expected to start operations in early 2021 marking the completion of the entire project which commenced in 2016.
With the firing of BF 3 on Aug 24, the mill is set to raise the supply of hot-rolled coils in the market from the end of September. The daily output at the complex is expected to reach 12,000-13,000mt. Monthly HRC production through this furnace is expected to reach 350,000mt to be sold in the domestic and export markets.
By 2021, the yearly output is expected to reach 5mn mt through the facilities in this complex. After BF 4 commences operations, the maximum daily crude steel output will reach 16,000mt.
The newly constructed BF 4 at Hoa Phat Dung Quat is three times larger than any of its other furnaces. The group’s total annual crude steel output is expected to reach 8mn mt, making Hoa Phat the largest steel producer in Vietnam.
Steel billet output reached 1.8mn mt in Jan-July, including 129,600mt of slab billet consumed for hot-rolled coil (HRC) production, the steelmaker reported.
The steelmaker has been developing its dedicated port facilities and has successfully upgraded its specialized port to handle vessels of 200,000mt capacity. On August 28, a vessel with 180,000mt capacity docked at the port, the largest to have docked here.
Vietnam steel association reported earlier that Vietnamese crude steel production increased to 2.1mn mt in July 2020, up by 7.7pc from June 2020, and by 19.8pc the prior year. In Jan-July, Vietnamese crude steel stood at 13.05mn mt, up 8.4pc from the prior year.