Vietnam Says No to Outdated Steel Technologies

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Sept. 20 – The Minister of Industry and Trade said that they will begin rejecting investment licenses for steel projects that use outdated technology.

The minister, Vu Huy Hoang, cited that many have licensed steel projects that are outside the industry’s development planning and use backward technologies, causing serious environmental pollution and waste of energy.

He said that Vietnam’s high power rates in the past years have been due to steel projects using outdated technology. State-owned Electricity of Vietnam Group blames the additional steel projects for causing the power shortages in the country.

Vietnam wants its steel output to reach 15 million to 18 million tons per year by 2020 and local government authorities have been reportedly lax when it comes to approving steel licenses.

Currently, there are 74 steel and cast iron projects operating in the country. One of the industry’s biggest projects at US$9.8 billion, the Ca Na Steel Complex at Ninh Thuan Province is now looking for new investors after authorities revoked its license after its Malaysian investors failed to push through with the project.