Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel plant

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Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel plant, also known as TISCO, is a steel plant in Thanh Pho City, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam that operates blast furnace (BF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology.

Location

The map below shows the exact location of the plant in Thanh Pho City, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam:

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• Location: Thanh Pho City, Thai Nguyen District, Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam
• Coordinates (WGS 84): 21.557484, 105.8728 (exact)

Background

The Thai Nguyen Iron & Steel plant was established in 1959 in the country's first industrial zone. It produced its first iron in 1963 and started operations as an integrated steel plant.

The plant has been struggling to follow through with a 500ttpa expansion project for over 15 years, but due to legal and implementation issues, progress has been stalled.

The plant is in danger of going bankrupt due to its growing debts and unstable capital structure. The company also has bad debts of almost VND852 billion ($36.7 million). TISCO's expansion project, which began in 2007, has been delayed several times and is one of many state-owned projects that have suffered significant losses and violated laws. TISCO has asked for help from authorities but has not received any assistance, according to the company's board.

In 2021, the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel JSC proposed the resumption of the project, and promised to operate it effectively after a few years, ensuring job for employees and avoiding losses in State capital. On 31 July 2022, the Prime Minister of Vietnam visited the plant to inspect the progress of the second phase of the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant extension project (TISCO 2).

The company has also faced legal troubles; in 2019, former executives of Vietnam Steel Corporation and Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel JSC were arrested for mismanagement that caused major losses in a $344 million steel project. Four of them were accused of violating investment regulations and mismanagement of public assets, one was accused of violating investment regulations. They stood trial in 2021 and many were sent to prison.

Environmental Compliance

In 2021, the company was fined VND565 million (around $24,500 USD) by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Binh Dinh province. The plant was found to be releasing wastewater containing unacceptable levels of pollutants into the surrounding environment. The company was ordered to undertake steps to address the pollution in addition to being financially penalized. The company has faced similar environmental violations in the past, leading some to demand stricter measures to prevent future pollution.

Plant Details

Table 1: General Plant Details

Construction date	Start date	Iron ore source	Coal source
1959-06	1963	Trai Cau Iron Mine; Phuc Ninh Iron ore mine; Quy Xa Iron mine; Tien Bo iron ore mine	Phan Me coal mine

Table 2: Ownership and Parent Company Information

State-owned entity status	Parent company	Parent company PermID	Parent company GEM ID	Owner	Owner company PermID	Owner company GEM ID
Partial	Viet Nam Steel Corp [65.0%]; Thai Hung Trading JSC [20.0%]; small shareholder(s) [15.0%]	5000054945 [65.0%]; 5037344674 [20.0%]; not applicable [15.0%]	E100000130925 [65.0%]; E100001012496 [20.0%]; E100001015587 [15.0%]	Thai Nguyen Iron And Steel JSC [100%]	5000050455	E100000130922 [100%]

Table 3: Process and Products

Steel product category	Steel products	ISO 14001	ISO 50001	Main production equipment
semi-finished, finished rolled	coil, bars	yes	unknown	BF; BOF; EAF

Table 4: Plant-level Crude Steel Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

¹Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status1	Basic oxygen furnace steelmaking capacity	Electric arc furnace steelmaking capacity	Nominal crude steel capacity (total)
construction	500	–	500
operating	–	300	300

Table 5: Plant-level Crude Iron Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

¹Please see our Frequently Asked Questions page for an explanation of the different capacity operating statuses.

Capacity operating status1	Blast furnace capacity	Nominal iron capacity (total)
construction	580	580
operating	300	300

Table 6: Upstream Products Production Capacities (thousand tonnes per annum)

Ferronickel	Sinter	Coke	Pellets
NF	120	130	NF

Table 7: Actual Plant-level Crude Steel Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year	EAF production	Other/unknown steel production
2019	unknown	unknown
2020	unknown	unknown
2021	unknown	unknown
2022	unknown	unknown

Table 8: Actual Plant-level Crude Iron Production by Year (thousand tonnes per annum)

Year	BF production	DRI production	Other/unknown iron production
2019	unknown	unknown	unknown
2020	unknown	unknown	unknown
2021	unknown	unknown	unknown
2022	unknown	unknown	unknown

Unit Details

Table 9: Blast Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Announced date	Construction date	Start date	Current size	Current capacity (ttpa)	Decarbonization technology	Most recent relining
BF 1	operating	–	1960-09-02	1963	120.0 m3	150	unknown	1971
BF 2	operating	–	–	1964	100.0 m3	150	unknown	1971
BF 4	construction	2007-09-27	2007-10	–	500.0 m3	580	unknown	–

Table 10: Electric Arc Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Start date	Furnace manufacturer and model	Current capacity (ttpa)	Current size (tonnes)
unknown EAF (1)	operating	2005	Danieli Italy	300	30.0

Table 11: Electric Arc Furnace Feedstock Details

Unit name	Scrap-based	% scrap	% basic/merchant pig iron
unknown EAF (1)	yes	>0	>0

Table 12: Basic Oxygen Furnace Details

Unit name	Status	Announced date	Construction date	Current capacity (ttpa)
unknown BOF (1)	construction	2007-09-27	2017	500

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of steel power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Iron and Steel Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

Resources

• Company website