BSRM sets up country's largest billet making plant
Sunday, 10 January 2010
Jasim Uddin Haroon
BSRM, Bangladesh's largest rod manufacturer, said Saturday it has completed setting up of the country's largest billet making plant at a cost of Tk 2.7 billion (270 crore).
Company officials said the new billet plant will halve the annual import of the raw material needed for manufacturing steel products.
Bangladesh's annual import volume of the same varies between 350,000 and 375,000 tonnes.
"We're expecting to launch trial operation of the billet plant from the next month as we have already completed setting up of the plant," Aameir Alihussian, a director of the BSRM Group, told the FE Saturday.
BSRM, the steel market leader, has installed its plant in Chittagong on a 3.0 acre land and it will roll out at least 150,000 tonnes of billet each year with an option for future expansion.
Mr Aameir said the new plant will help stabilise the steel market as the price fluctuation of billet in the international market affects the domestic market.
The new plant of BSRM has been named BISCO (BSRM Iron and Steel Company).
The produces will mainly be consumed by its another new plant - BSRM Xtreme - and other re-rolling mills owned by the BSRM Group.
Leading re-rolling mills manufacture rods from imported billets, a semi-finished steel product, to produce quality 60-grade steel products while the non-grade mild steel manufacturers use old ship scrap.
Bangladesh has around a dozen of rod manufacturers who use billet to produce quality rod.
Mr Aameir said they undertook the task of setting up the new billet making plant mainly as the country's demand for quality rod is rising and added: "Quality billet is the pre-condition for producing quality rods."
Meanwhile steel manufacturers said the demand for 60-grade rod was rising on an average 10 per cent annually and mainly being consumed by the real estate developers.
BSRM also said it would purchase 30 MW power from the Power Development Board to run the plant.
Around 250 re-rolling and steel mills in the country produce around 2.5 million tonnes of steel products, which meet the annual local demand.
BSRM, Bangladesh's largest rod manufacturer, said Saturday it has completed setting up of the country's largest billet making plant at a cost of Tk 2.7 billion (270 crore).
Company officials said the new billet plant will halve the annual import of the raw material needed for manufacturing steel products.
Bangladesh's annual import volume of the same varies between 350,000 and 375,000 tonnes.
"We're expecting to launch trial operation of the billet plant from the next month as we have already completed setting up of the plant," Aameir Alihussian, a director of the BSRM Group, told the FE Saturday.
BSRM, the steel market leader, has installed its plant in Chittagong on a 3.0 acre land and it will roll out at least 150,000 tonnes of billet each year with an option for future expansion.
Mr Aameir said the new plant will help stabilise the steel market as the price fluctuation of billet in the international market affects the domestic market.
The new plant of BSRM has been named BISCO (BSRM Iron and Steel Company).
The produces will mainly be consumed by its another new plant - BSRM Xtreme - and other re-rolling mills owned by the BSRM Group.
Leading re-rolling mills manufacture rods from imported billets, a semi-finished steel product, to produce quality 60-grade steel products while the non-grade mild steel manufacturers use old ship scrap.
Bangladesh has around a dozen of rod manufacturers who use billet to produce quality rod.
Mr Aameir said they undertook the task of setting up the new billet making plant mainly as the country's demand for quality rod is rising and added: "Quality billet is the pre-condition for producing quality rods."
Meanwhile steel manufacturers said the demand for 60-grade rod was rising on an average 10 per cent annually and mainly being consumed by the real estate developers.
BSRM also said it would purchase 30 MW power from the Power Development Board to run the plant.
Around 250 re-rolling and steel mills in the country produce around 2.5 million tonnes of steel products, which meet the annual local demand.