Steel sector to heat up as new competitors enter the race.

A few major corporations are expected to enter Bangladesh's steel sector, and a number of current steelworks are hoping to grow in order to capitalize on the growing demand for the essential building material.
Six conglomerates are expanding their manufacturing capacities and building new factories: PHP Group of Industries, Bashundhara Group, Anwar Group of Industries, and Meghna Group of Companies.
Since we produce ceramics, cement, and prefabricated buildings, we are already in the building materials business. The chairman and managing director of Meghna Group of Companies, Mostafa Kamal, stated to The Daily Star earlier this month, "We are going to produce steel to expand our portfolio."

With an estimated investment of $400 million, the conglomerate plans to establish a steel plant capable of producing 14 lakh tonnes of steel annually. Work on the plant at the Cumilla Economic Zone has already begun.

The expansion drive is expected to increase Bangladesh's yearly steel production capacity to more than one crore tonnes.
There are currently 40 steelworks operating with a combined capacity of 90 lakh tonnes. At the moment, Bangladesh needs 80 lakh tonnes of steel per year.

"As goals and lifestyles change, people are moving from tin homes to brick ones. There is a lack of land as well. The founder and chairman of PHP Family, Sufi Mohamed Mizanur Rahman, stated last month that "we will have to go vertical to ensure homes."

PHP Group intends to build a basic steel factory in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar (BSMSN), Mirsharai in the southeast region of Chattogram. The company has interests in flat steel, float glass, shipbreaking, and automobiles. It will produce 30 lakh tonnes of steel a year at its maximum.

Officials have stated that over 2 million tonnes of hot-rolled coils will be produced annually through the two mills, Bashundhara Pre-fabricated Building Manufacturing Industries and Bashundhara Multi Steel Industries.

By mid-2023, the factories will be ready to start up fully.

The largest producer of steel in the nation, Bangladesh Steel Re-Rolling Mills (BSRM), intends to build a rerolling mill with a capacity of 7 lakh tonnes for steel production.

According to Aameir Alihussain, the company's managing director, this will bring the company's total capacity to 24 lakh tonnes. This was stated last month.

To increase its market share, the Anwar Group, which is already in the steel industry, plans to invest more than Tk 4,000 crore to construct a new factory in Munshiganj's Gajaria.

The factory's land development project is already finished. The plant would have a 16 lakh tonnes annual production capacity.