Deacero Colombia, a subsidiary of the Mexican steel producer, is facing difficulties to advance the steel project it has with local producer G&J, an executive from local association Camacero, said.
The $250 million steel project located in the Juan Mina area still needs to get local permits, and currently is lacking a partial plan in order to advance.
“We don’t the have permits, and we don’t even have a partial plan [for the project],” said Oscar Ramirez, president at the nation’s steel association, Camacero. “That’s a delayed issue, because the [project’s] partial plan needs [some] studies. There are national rules to be complied and that is not working,” he said.
The project is said to be Colombia’s first greenfield initiative and will cost $30 million in its first phase.
According to a media report, among the basic steps that the joint initiative still needs to comply in order to advance, are the habilitation of the areas in which the transmission lines of energy will pass, risk and mobility studies, as well as the environmental licenses that are needed to be granted, so the two companies can draft a partial plan for the project.
The company is expected to start-up in 2017 and could meet up to 25 percent of Colombian steel needs. It is expected to produce about 450,000 mt of steel.