Doha: Steel supply for the construction industry is currently more balanced although prices remain high, according to an official of a steel manufacturing firm.
Dirk Van Landeghem, General Manager of Arcelor International based in Luxembourg, one of the world's largest steel manufacturers said the steel shortage was more or less a recurrent phenomenon and a global rather than regional problem.
The root of the problem of steel shortage, he said, was due to the limited capacity of conventional ships for steel cargo transport resulting in high rates for freights.
Certain commodities like steel can only be transported by conventional ships. But since ship owners were investing more on the more lucrative container ships, the few available conventional ships could not meet the increasing demands for steel.
"The price for reinforced bars, for instance, almost tripled. There was shortage for steel beams, structural steel and other base material and prices went up tremendously everywhere", said Van Landeghem, who is here to take part in Project Qatar 2004.
The company has been a major supplier of steel products to gas related projects in Qatar for many years and also has a small clientele of regular industrial customers.
"Qatar is a very interesting market with unique projects in the gas sector taking place generating activities in other sectors of the country's economy, like infrastructure and the construction industry", he said.
Arcelor with an office in Dubai for more than 20 years specialises in carbon steel flat and long, steel sheet piles and accessories, stainless steel flat and long and wire products.
© The Peninsula 2004
