Steel Asia expects sustained Cebu boom

MANILA, Philippines–Steel Asia, the country’s largest steel manufacturer, expects Cebu to continue its growth trajectory and remain one of the country’s major markets in the coming years outside Metro Manila.

“Cebu is to the Visayas what Metro Manila is to Luzon,” said Ben Yao, Steel Asia president, adding that it is expanding its manufacturing operations there to make sure that Cebu has enough steel for its continuing construction of malls, business and residential buildings, public infrastructure and utilities.

Last year, Steel Asia supplied nearly 70 percent of Cebu’s needs and, in the process, made it the province’s largest taxpayer of import duties and value added taxes totaling close to P900 million.

From January to July this year, the company already imported billets worth over P2.5 billion that its Cebu plant processed into reinforcing steel bars (rebars), Yao said.

The company has one rolling mill producing rebars in Cebu, one each in Davao and Cagayan de Oro and three in Luzon.

Steel Asia accounts for about 60 percent of the country’s total steel rebar production capacity and delivers to all of the country’s largest developers even to the extent of 100 percent of their requirements for major projects, Yao said.

“The big players routinely order from us because we have successfully integrated our product into value-added services while at the same time proven that we meet all quality standards and specifications, allowing the developers to lower their construction costs.”

Cebu’s construction boom is expected to last for several more years as the government spends more on infrastructure and the private sector continues to build to meet the demands of the business process outsourcing sector, he said.