SteelAsia is pressing ahead with an expansion strategy that could fundamentally reshape the Philippine steel industry—one green mill at a time.
In an exclusive interview with Context.PH, SteelAsia chairman and chief executive officer Benjamin Yao laid out a vision that goes beyond growth targets and capacity figures. At stake, he said, is nothing less than the country’s industrial future.
“We are not just expanding SteelAsia,” Yao said. “We are helping redefine what the Philippine steel industry can be—and what it should stand for.”
SteelAsia, the country’s flagship steel manufacturer, plans to produce 3.5 million tons of green steel annually by 2029, driven by the combined output of five mills under its P75-billion expansion program. The effort positions the company at the center of a global shift toward cleaner steelmaking—while anchoring production firmly at home.
Last year, SteelAsia announced plans to build the country’s first heavy sections mill in Candelaria, Quezon, a project Yao described as deeply aligned with the *Tatak Pinoy* spirit. “This is about strengthening national industrialization,” he said. “It’s about steel sovereignty—having a reliable domestic supply—and creating quality jobs that uplift Filipino communities.”
The centerpiece of the near-term expansion is the SteelAsia Lemery steel sections mill, which Yao called a breakthrough not just for the company, but for the entire industry.
“For the first time, steel beams and sections will be produced locally in the Philippines,” he said. “That changes the game. We move beyond rebar and into higher-value steel products that are essential for infrastructure and industrial development.”
Once operational, the Lemery facility will also stand as one of the country’s most advanced green steel mills. It is modeled after SteelAsia’s Calaca plant, which was assessed by global certification body DNV as having among the lowest carbon dioxide emissions of steel mills worldwide.
“Our push is really about maintaining greenness,” Yao said. “That means using electricity from renewable sources and sourcing raw materials from scrap. You cannot call it green steel if you cut corners.”
The stakes are high. According to a 2022 World Economic Forum report, about 75 percent of steel globally is still produced using coal-fired blast furnaces—an energy-intensive process that accounts for roughly 8 percent of global carbon emissions. The International Energy Agency has said emissions from steel production must be cut by 50 percent by 2050 to meet global climate goals.
Green steel—produced without fossil fuels—has become both an environmental imperative and a competitive advantage.
Yao acknowledged that the road has not been easy. He described 2025 as one of the most challenging years in SteelAsia’s six-decade history, largely due to the complexity of pioneering projects like Lemery.
“Developing the country’s first environmentally sustainable section mill meant navigating technical, logistical, and market challenges all at once,” he said. “But those challenges only reinforced why this matters. This is how you build long-term national capability.”
For Yao, SteelAsia’s expansion is inseparable from nation-building. By localizing the production of higher-value steel products, the company reduces dependence on imports, strengthens supply chains, and keeps more economic value within the country.
Asked to define SteelAsia’s role in one word, Yao did not hesitate: “Transformative.”
“Our expansion strategy is as transformative for the company as it is for the industry,” he said. “We are proving that sustainable, homegrown steel production is possible—and that it can support growth, jobs, and climate goals at the same time.”
Collaboration, Yao stressed, will be critical going forward. SteelAsia is working closely with partners across the public and private sectors who share both commercial and national interests.
“As we evolve, we need to attract and develop talent, technology, and trust,” he said. “We are fortunate to have allies who believe, as we do, that building steel is also about building the future.”
For SteelAsia, that future is green, local, and unmistakably Filipino.
