Vietnam’s Hoa Phat restarted blast furnace No. 1 at its Dung Quat Iron and Steel Complex on Aug. 1, the steelmaker said on Aug. 7, and plans to boost steel sales in the second half of 2025.
It said the restart comes after refractory maintenance on the blast furnace was completed, following six years of stable operations.
A Vietnam-based trader said that for a major player like Hoa Phat, a quick recovery is usually expected.
“Currently, the Hoa Phat Dung Quat complex is operating five blast furnaces, four of which belong to the Hoa Phat Dung Quat 1 project,” the steelmaker said.
The furnaces under the Dung Quat 1 project each have a volume of 1,080 cu m, while the furnaces in the Dung Quat 2 project have a higher volume of 2,500 cu m.
Hoa Phat said the second phase of the Dung Quat 2 project will be completed in September 2025, which will bring the new blast furnace No. 6 online.
The completion will put Hoa Phat’s overall steel production capacity at 16 million mt/year, of which 9 million mt/year will comprise hot-rolled coils “fully meeting domestic demand for this product [HRC] in Vietnam,” it said.
Before the completion, Hoa Phat plans to break ground on Aug. 19 for a new 700,000 mt/year mill in the Dung Quat economic zone, Quang Ngai province, to manufacture high-speed railway rails and special steel sections. Production is expected to begin within 20 months of the project’s start date, according to Germany-based technology and engineering company SMS group, which has been contracted to deliver the rail and section mill.
Hoa Phat produced 5.1 million mt of crude steel in H1 2025, up 17% year over year, while sales of HRC, construction steel and billets totaled 5 million mt, up 23% against the corresponding period of 2024, it said. Of the 5 million mt, about 2.2 million mt comprised HRC, a 42% spike versus H1 2024.
“Hoa Phat’s monthly domestic HRC offers, which stood at $517$-518/mt CIF domestic ports, were competitive, and after the mill recovered fully, it was heard to see bolstered sales,” the trader said. SAE1006 grade hot-rolled coil at $504/mt CFR Southeast Asia on Aug. 6, up $2/mt day over day.
