BNamericas reported that Peru's steel production is projected to rise 7.6% to 1.6 MT to meet surging demand from infrastructure concessionaires.
Consulting firm Maximixe said that new steel demand will come from highway bridges and the construction of housing, offices, hotels, malls and industrial clusters, in addition to expansions at Southern Copper's USD 1 billion Toquepala mine and Vale's Bayóvar phosphate deposit.
Shougang Hierro Perú, meanwhile, is on track to boost iron ore output by 7.5% as it moves ahead with a USD 1 billion expansion project at its mine in Marcona.
Iron and steel imports are expected to fall 3.2% to USD 2.469 billion this year as stocks accumulate at steel mills Aceros Arequipa and Gerdau unit Siderperú, according to Maximixe. Exports will also dip 3.5% to USD 244 million on lower demand in South and Central America and slumping iron and steel prices.
Peru's steel industry boosted annual production at an average rate of 10.4% over the past 5 years in response to a construction boom, rising to 1.464 MT last year from 1.012 MT in 2008. Public spending on infrastructure jumped fivefold to PEN 31.310 billion in 2013 on projects including Lima's overhead railway and the Inter Oceanic Highway.
The government plans to award USD 5 billion in infrastructure and mining concessions in the second half of the year.
Aceros Arequipa, which is controlled by the local Cilloniz group, invested USD 145 million in a new rolled steel plant in the port of Pisco to boost annual steel production to 1.35 MT per year. The company nearly doubled exports to Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia in the first quarter as a new high speed rolling plant boosted output.
Siderperú, which replaced diesel with natural gas at its steel mill, increased local steel sales by 6.7% in the first quarter. The company is studying a USD 480 million project to expand rolled steel capacity to 900,000 tonne per year including a USD 253 million electric arc furnace.
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