Emirates Steel Expects Construction, Infrastructure Demand to Double by 2015

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Emirates Steel estimates that demand from the construction and infrastructure sectors for the company's heavy sections will double in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries by 2015. Speaking at an industry conference in Abu Dhabi, Saeed Al Romaithi, the acting chief executive officer of Emirates Steel, said that the company's new heavy-section rolling mill is ready to begin production early next year. "We have made a significant investment in structural steel manufacturing technology, which will put our heavy sections mill amongst the most advanced in the world," he said.

He added that by offering a wide range of structural products, the new mill will be able to meet differing structural steel needs and maximize the company's design effectiveness.

State-owned Emirates Steel, sited at the Industrial City of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is the largest integrated manufacturer of steel in the UAE and is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation. The 1 million-ton-per-year rolling mill is part of an expansion program launched in 2009. The mill will be capable of producing a range of structural steel products, including beams and columns, channels, equal angles, unequal angles and sheet piling.

"Structural steel will be essential to the local and regional markets," said Mubarak Al Khaili, vice-president of Emirates commercial strategy. "The growing number of projects in the GCC working on the development of infrastructure, industrial plants, power transmission towers, bridges, seaports and high-rise towers all require the new products we will be able to supply."

Demand for medium and heavy sections in the Middle East is forecast to reach 4.3 million tons in 2012, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE being the largest consumers, according to Steel Business Briefing.

Demand is currently met by imports, mainly from China, South Korea and Eastern Europe. The GCC's total annual steel demand is 20 million tons per year, compared to a capacity of 12 million tons.

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