Steel import bill tops P2.6bn
Onalenna Kelebeile | Friday July 25, 2014 14:57
Speaking during a ground breaking ceremony of the Pula Steel manufacturing plant recently, Kedikilwe said 50 percent of the steel demand was imported from South Africa, followed by China who brought 40 percent to Botswana. He noted that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) imported US$5.3 billion of steel last year, which translated to P47.1 billion.
“This scenario has made us net importers of steel at a very high premium and as a result several projects including some national development projects have been delivered at exhorbitant costs.
“In this regard Pula Steel brings hope and has the potential to assist in mitigating costs of some public infrastructural projects by supplying locally produced steel of competitive quality,” he added.
He added that steel is a basic commodity required by any economy and its high demand is attributed to mining and construction among others. He explained that due to the increased number of economic projects in the SADC region steel supply is quickly being surpassed by demand. He said that this is evident in the volume of traffic that traverses Botswana transporting steel.
He said this new business venture is a springboard for BCL mine in developing the iron production circuit to curb over reliance on imported steel and steel related products.
In terms of Polaris 11 configuration, the iron production circuit aims to beneficiate iron ore, which will create employment opportunities, reduce steel imports and generate foreign exchange and ultimately grow the country’s economy.
“I urge everyone to engage with Pula Steel promoters and management with a view to exploring business opportunities because there is potential for downstream projects such as production of nuts and bolts, screws and nails. “Opportunities to substitute import on some steel products are in abundance,” he said. Kedikilwe further noted that Pula Steel will be an important economic player in Selebi-Phikwe, and that he bore witness that more deliverables are in the offing.
Among those is the agreement for the construction of the Plaatjaan Bridge that was signed last week. The SPEDU’s horticultural processing plant should be delivered before the end of the year while the airport project is also on the cards.
“The various aspects of BCL Polaris 11 are taking shape including taking advantage of the smelter capacity which gives the mine a competitive advantage.
“It must be utilised to its maximum capacity,” he said.
“We will not allow Selebi-Phikwe to die. However the focus should not be peculiar to this town but we should continue to conceptualise what can be done in other areas like Francistown, Chobe and Maun to develop economic zones,” he said.