China’s second-biggest steelmaker, the Hebei-based HBIS Group, has signed an MOU for a US$4.4 billion steel project in the Philippines. The plant will eventually produce 8 million mt of crude steel annually. The facilities will include sintering, coking, pelletizing, and steel rolling.
According to the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine Iron and Steel Project on Mindanao island will be the country’s first integrated steel complex and China’s biggest industrial investment. Additional investors include the Huili Investment Fund, Steel Asia Manufacturing Corp, and the state-owned Phividec Industrial Authority.
The project is being planned in two phases. The facility will produce 4.5 million mt of HRC and 600,000 mt of slab annually in the first US$3 billion phase. The remaining US$1.4 billion will support capacity growth to the 8 million mt objective. The project is expected to take three to five years and produce 20,000 jobs.