Union Minister of Industry makes the case for Myingyan Steel Mill in Parliament to promote the production of 400,000 tons of steel annually

Upon the Myingyan No-1 Steel Mill completion, it will be capable of producing 400,000 tons of steel an­nually, a material Myan­mar industry desperately demands, U Khin Maung Cho, the Union Minister of Industry, told Parlia­ment.

The Union Minister urged the importance of the forthcoming steel mill and stressed the impor­tance of finalizing con­struction as soon as pos­sible.

“A domestic producer has great potential in the wake of a national up­swing of infrastructure and commercial develop­ment which rests upon large inputs of steel,” U Khin Maung Cho said.

Currently, production is limited to 100 small pri­vate enterprises produc­ing 70-100,000 tons of steel a year and a small number of public com­panies such as Myanmar Steel.

Ministries overseeing State Owned Enterprises (SOE) are under pressure from the Union govern­ment as reports continu­ously demonstrate the in­efficiency of government sponsored endeavors.

In 2014, the World Trade Organization found that SOEs devour 75 percent of the national budget and while losing an amount equivalent to 5 percent of GDP annually.

Earlier this year, Parlia­ment suspended opera­tions and new investment for 33 SOE factories in an attempt slow the debt deluge

This project is financed by a €1.08 billion World Bank loan, €1.04 billion of which has already been allocated spent while the remainder will be doled out on a fixed schedule.

“We are ahead of sched­ule and cannot afford to delay construction, we need the remaining €39.5 million to be distributed for construction,” U Khin Maung Cho asked Parlia­ment.

Once up and running, the mill will be immense­ly profitable and the loan can be repaid within 8 to 14 years, the Union Min­ister estimated.

According to the Minis­ter of Commerce, imports of steel increase each year. 1.56 million tons of steel have already been imported this year, 60 percent of which coming from China.

(Myanmar Business Today: https://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/minister-makes-case-myingyan-steel-mill )

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