SteelAsia Manufacturing Corporation has signed a landmark agreement with Danieli Co. Ltd., a global leader in metals technologies, to supply supply all the core equipment and technology for its Php 30 billion project: the Philippines’ first heavy steel sections mill in Candelaria, Quezon.
SteelAsia Chairman and CEO Benjamin Yao and Danieli CEO, Giacomo Mareschi Danieli signed the supply contract on April 4, 2025. The signing ceremony was witnessed by H.E. Davide Giglio, Ambassador of Italy to the Philippines, and Secretary Frederick Go,Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs.
Under the agreement, Danieli will supply all the core equipment and technology for the Php30 billion project.
Along with SteelAsia’s other section mill under construction in Batangas, the Candelaria mill is expected to generate 7,000 jobs, both within the plant and across its external supporting industries, and more as the downstream pre-engineered building, and fabrication industries develop as a result of the operations of the heavy section mill.
SteelAsia expects the Philippine construction sector to benefit from both cost and time savings when operations commence in 2027. Delivery lead times, particularly for infrastructure projects will reduce from 3 months for imported steel to just 2 weeks, locally.
By substituting these imports, the country will also benefit by avoiding the purchase of US dollars. With SteelAsia’s two section mills Secretary Go noted that around USD 1.2 billion worth of imports annually will be replaced, “It will really help our country’s self-sufficiency and reduce importation dependence from international suppliers.”.
Danieli underscored the significance of the project to nation building. “Steel is the base development of any country. This is laying the foundation of future development in the Philippines, and this is what we are seeing everywhere in the world,” he added.
The mill is a pioneering manufacturing facility in the Philippines for the first local production of heavy beams, angles, and channels, sheet piles and narrow plates, all of which are 100 percent imported today- mostly from China and Vietnam.
Sections are most suitable for seismic zones or typhoon belts such as the Philippines, because of its tensile strength advantages over reinforced concrete.
Secretary Frederick Go welcomed the development of the project. “This is exactly what the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos seeks to attract. We want these kinds of investments to rebuild our economy and move from a consumption-based economy to a more sustainable investment-led economy.”
Italian Ambassador to the Philippine H.E. Davide Giglio, expressed his view.  “This project is about sovereignty.”“It is a milestone.” he added while noting that SteelAsia and Danieli have been working together for more than 30 years for SteelAsia’s past expansion projects.
SteelAsia tapped Danieli’s green steel technologies and expects the mill to have one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world, for steel plants. The Candelaria mill is expected to avoid 2 million tons of CO2 per year, in line with global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize the steel industry.
SteelAsia is the Philippines’ flagship steel company, with steel mills operating in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and the leading steel supplier for critical public and private construction. It is at the forefront of building a Philippine steel industry and has plans for expanding its product line and steel manufacturing capacity. The Candelaria steel mill will be the company’s 6th operating steel mill.
