The Matarbari power plant construction project includes the construction of a 1200㎿ (600㎿ x 2ea) coal-fired thermal power plant on Matarbari Island, Chittagong, approximately 280km southeast of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Site improvement and port construction are also part of the project, expected to last 7 years. POSCO E&C invested a total of USD 4.5 billion in this project which is the largest coal-fired thermal power generation project in Southwest Asia. POSCO E&C is in charge of civil engineering for the power plant worth USD 840 million and the construction of the coal processing facilities and subsidiary facilities.

The Bangladeshi government and the Japanese government have been working together on this project as a means to speed up the low electrification rate of Bangladesh. The Sumitomo Corporation Consortium, which has been cooperating with POSCO E&C, won the contract last month from the project owner Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited.

POSCO E&C also recently won the contract to build the Yangon Waterworks Improvement Project in Myanmar worth USD 53 million. POSCO E&C selected Myanmar as one of its 5 strategic countries, and built the Yangon Hotel, the tallest landmark building in Myanmar. It is now accelerating its efforts to make inroads into the Myanmar construction market. Both projects are funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

POSCO E&C President Chan-geon Han said, “We won this contract thanks to our world-class EPC technology and expertise, which has been recognized in the Central and South American energy plant markets. This contract is all the more meaningful because we won it at a time of declining overseas business due to a dip in international oil prices.”

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The announcement distinguished POSCO as the world’s top steelmaker for the eighth consecutive time in six years. 

The WSD evaluated 36 steelmakers from all corners of the globe in 23 categories including production capacity, profitability, technological innovation, cost competitiveness, cost savings, financial stability, and procurement, as of June 2015.

As a result of focusing on the enhancement of core corporate competitiveness by growing the sales of high value-added premium products and solution marketing founded on technology, POSCO acquired an average of 7.91 points, with a maximum score of 10 points in technological innovation, putting the Korean steelmaker at the No.1 spot. 

According to the WSD’s rankings, following POSCO was the second-ranking American mini-mill steelmaker Nucor Corp., having reaped the benefits of the shale gas developments that coincide with the recent recovery of the steel market in industrialized nations. Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal of Japan ranked third, demonstrating rising sales related to increased export competitiveness under the Abenomics policies. Brazil’s Gerdau came in fourth, followed by Severstal of Russia. Hyundai Steel of Korea ranked ninth for the second consecutive year. 

During the Steel Success Strategies forum, which was held under the theme “Just the Beginning,” it was forecasted by the WSD that the global steel industry would continue at its current slow pace for some time after assessing the short-term market conditions from 2015 to 2017. On the bright side, the organization noted that the global steel industry should recover some momentum and see improvements in the raw materials market from 2017. This, of course, is uplifting news as POSCO continues to move forward.

Top 10 Rankings of World-Class Competitive Steelmakers 

1 POSCO (Korea) 7.91 
2 Nucor (U.S.A.) 7.55 
3 Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal (Japan) 7.49 
4 Gerdau (Brazil) 7.34 
5 Severstal (Russia) 7.31 
6 JSW Steel (India) 7.20 
7 NLMK (Russia) 7.14 
8 JFE(Japan) 7.104
9 Hyundai 7.05
10 Erdemir 7.03