Giant Posco steel plant faces power supply delay

According to the Government Office, executives from Posco SS-Vina raised concerns with Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at a recent meeting.

The executives claimed they were afraid that the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) would fail to supply power to the facility by November, when construction on the plant in the Phu My 2 Industrial Park is scheduled to complete.

If this concern becomes true, Posco SS-Vina will have to delay the start of its operations despite work on the site being finished.

Southern Power Corporation, a subsidiary of EVN, could not complete the construction of the power supply system for Posco’s facility because of the slow pace of site clearance, stated the Government Office.

After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai ordered the Ministry of Industry and Trade, EVN and Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Committee to find ways to ensure that power was supplied to Posco on time.

Posco began construction on its $700 million Posco SS-Vina plant in 2012. The facility is designed to produce one million tonnes of shape steel and reinforced steel a year.

The South Korean steel-maker announced that Posco SS-Vina would open a mill equipped with a 120-tonne-capacity electric furnace, and a rolling mill with annual production capacity of one million tonnes of shape steel, reinforced steel and steel bars. The site will also host a port for the shipping of materials and processed products.

Vietnam has been promoting major infrastructure development projects including the development of roads, railways and subways, so demand for construction steel is expected to rise.

Posco claimed it expected the Posco SS-Vina project to give the firm the upper hand in the rapidly growing Vietnamese rolled steel market as it will allow the manufacture and supply of mid-to large-scale shape steel which has been entirely imported from overseas.

In addition to Posco SS-Vina, Posco owns and runs two other steel factories in Vietnam. One of them is also located in Phu My 2 Industrial Park, manufacturing cold-rolled steel products. The other factory, Posco VTS, is located in Nhon Trach Industrial Park, Dong Nai province, manufacturing stainless steel.