Philippines blocks new induction furnace project

Filipino steel producer Philippine Sanjia Steel's application for construction of a new steelmaking project has not been approved by the Board of Investments in the country due to environmental concerns as the company has proposed to install an induction furnace.

Total investment in the project was expected at PHP 800 million ($15 million). Usually the capacity of induction furnace-based steel mills is not higher than 500,000 mt per year.

Sanjia Steel planned to build the steel mill in Misamis Oriental on Mindanao island, the same location which has been chosen by Chinese investors for the construction of a large-scale integrated steel plant with 8 million mt of planned capacity per year. This project has received support from the Filipino authorities, according to preliminary information.