The share of basic oxygen furnace (BOF)-based steel production in Asia may increase from 2019 onward, even as more integrated mills are commissioned in the region.
There are at least six new BOF-based steelmaking projects in China and Southeast Asia which are either in development stages or will fire their blast furnaces between 2018 and 2023, according to World Steel Association head of technology Rizwan Janjua. These include Alliance Steel's 3.5 million tonnes per year mill in Kuantan, Malaysia; Rizhao Iron & Steel's 8.5 million tpy mill in Shandong, China; Wuhan Iron & Steel's steel mill in Fangchenggang, China; Jintang Shougang's mill in Caofeidian, China; Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp's 7 million tpy mill in Ha Tinh, Vietnam; and Hoa Sen Group's planned $10.6 billion Ca Na project in Ninh Thuan, central Vietnam. "This is contrary to previous expectations that further growth will be based on electric-arc furnace (EAF) technology," Janjua told attendees of the 2018 Asean Iron and Steel Sustainability Forum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Monday November 26. Southeast Asia's share of...