Formosa Plastics finally fires up Vietnamese steel mill

Taiwanese company back on track after wastewater woes

Nikkei Asian Review, May 30, 2017

HANOI — Vietnam’s first large blast furnace steelworks began operations Tuesday, closing the books on a 2016 scandal in which contaminated wastewater was blamed for a fish die-off.

The facility in the central province of Ha Tinh started making pig iron that day, a JFE Holdings executive told The Nikkei.

The major Japanese steelmaker holds a roughly 5% stake in the works, constructed by Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics group. Output will likely be held down in the first year but is seen eventually ramping up to an annual 22 million tons or more.

The Ha Tinh mill marks a significant step for Vietnam, which now imports most of its steel from China.

The start was pushed back from the planned June 2016 after large numbers of dead fish were found nearby. Pointing the finger at wastewater piped into the sea from the mill, the government punished the operator to the tune of $500 million. The start of operations suggests that the company has finished paying compensation to local fishermen and that authorities are satisfied with efforts to restore the marine environment.

The scandal raised environmental awareness in the Southeast Asian nation and energized local opposition to construction of factories by foreign businesses.