Demand for Heavy Sections in the GCC Region Set to Double by 2015
Emirates Steel, the largest integrated manufacturer of steel in the UAE, commented at a conference it organized in Abu Dhabi that it expected demand for heavy sections in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region will double by 2015. The conference, held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Center (ADNEC), was the first of a series that Emirates Steel intends to stage in the GCC between now and the end of the year.
“Once up and running, our heavy sections rolling mill will establish the Company as the leading manufacturer and supplier of structural steel in the Middle East region and a center of excellence for the effective use of metal in construction,” Engineer Saeed G Al Romaithi, Emirates Steel’s Acting CEO, told the audience in an opening address. “By offering a wide range of structural products, the mill will be able to meet your differing structural steel needs and maximize their design effectiveness. 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 added.
“Our structural steel will be essential to the local and regional markets. The growing number of projects in the GCC working on the development of infrastructure, industrial plants, power transmission towers, bridges, sea ports and high rise towers all require the new products we will be able to supply,” pointed out Mr. Mubarak Al Khaili, Emirates Steel’s VP of Commercial Strategy.
These construction projects will demand a large tonnage of heavy sections. According to Steel Business Briefing, 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 United Arab Emirates being the biggest consumers. Demand is currently met by imports mainly from China, Korea and Eastern Europe. The GCC’s total steel demand is 20 million tons per year, compared to a capacity of 12 million tons per year.
Attended by around 100 contractors, consultants, fabricators and developers, the conference highlighted Emirates Steel’s new heavy sections rolling mill, due to start production in early 2012. As part of Emirates Steel’s phased expansion program the Company launched, in November 2009, the construction of this one million metric tons per annum heavy sections rolling mill. The facility can produce a broad range of structural steel products, including beams and columns, channels, equal angles, unequal angles, and sheet piling. The conference provided the platform to announce Emirates Steel’s upcoming heavy sections products.