By Jorge Petinaud Martinez
Chief correspondent for Prensa Latina in Bolivia
“We are moving forward with the perspective that we will have until the end of 2024
This work has been completed and we can now produce steel for them
“Bolivian,” he told the press after an inspection
September in this area of the Santa Cruz Territory.
The manager of the Mutún Steel Company (ESM), Jorge
Alvarado explained details of the construction work in
Concentration, pelletizing and direct reduction systems
Iron (DRI), steelmaking, rolling mill and power plant
the secondary areas.
For his part, Quispe claimed that there was great satisfaction because
This complex also means the creation of more than 700 jobs
directly and five thousand indirectly.
When it comes to the concentration areas and the power plant
He stated that they had made greater progress and were at 90 points
Percentages.
After the inspection, the minister held a meeting with
Representatives of the supervisory company Cisdi and the construction company
Sinosteel will coordinate and confirm the details of the work
Compliance with the planned deadlines, it was said.
This flagship plant of Bolivian industrialization includes 42
hectares and the total amount of investment is 546 million
Dollar.
Paralyzed in 2020 during the de facto government of Jeanine Áñez,
Construction work has resumed at this industrial complex
in 2021.
Bolivia imports about 450,000 tons of steel every year.
Peru, Argentina and Brazil and its annual production is 200,000 tons
will reduce these purchases by almost half.
The factory will contribute corrugated iron rods and
Wire rod, the first is needed for construction and the second
They are raw materials for other by-products such as nuts, bolts, etc
Nails of different sizes and diameters.
Good news for the construction of the complex was its arrival in the department on August 9 via the Jennefer port
Santa Cruz, the reactor that will be housed at the DRI facility, is considered a key component of this industry, Alvarado confirmed.
This piece of engineering, made in Mexico, weighs 175 tons.
It is 26 meters long and about seven meters wide.
It is used to obtain the mineral through direct reduction
Sponge iron, a product used as a valuable raw material
added to obtain steel.
Company spokespeople claim that its design is one of the most outstanding
We are trusted worldwide to be environmentally friendly
that natural gas is used as a mineral in direct reduction
Reducing agent instead of coal, as in blast furnaces.
BIODIESEL
Bolivia is also making progress with construction
Biodiesel from Palmasola (Santa Cruz) and Senkata (El Alto), which will save 10 percent of imported fuel, said the
President of Bolivian Fiscal Petroleum Yacimientos (YPFB),
Armin Dorgathen.
According to the company manager, the Santa Cruz complex is already set up and
will be able to begin operations at the end of this year, while the
The Alteña factory will be completed in mid-2024.
“With these plants we will save 10 percent of fuel imports, which is a lot, and we will also have an environmentally friendly fuel,” he said in an interview with state broadcaster Bolivia TV.
Dorgathen described that these factories will contribute to the reduction
carbon dioxide emissions and will stimulate the national economy,
Because this promotes strong investments in agriculture,
Movement is generated through logistics and transport
Oil extractors.
The head of YPFB recalled that these works are gradually becoming a reality within the framework of the industrialization policy for import substitution.
When construction began on the Héroes de Biodiesel II plant
Senkata, on March 6, the President of Bolivia, Luis Arce,
He believed that this step represented the beginning of a qualitative leap.
“Today is an important day, today we are making a qualitative leap
City of El Alto, because today we are laying the foundation stone for
“Build the biodiesel and derivatives plant at Senkata as a tribute to this struggling people,” he said during the placement ceremony
Foundation stone for the start of work, the construction of which will take some time
Year.
The dignitary explained that the second biodiesel plant in the
The Andean-Amazon nation joins various projects
Particularly in the north, where soybeans, corn and sugar cane are already produced, products are being implemented that will provide raw materials for the new industry.
Arce emphasized this as a tribute to the dead and wounded
Due to the fighting in El Alto, the first agro-industrial plant is built here
from the department of La Paz.
This factory will also supply derivatives of vegetable oils such as glycerin, an essential element for promoting the industry.
Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for which Arce invited entrepreneurs
from the West to design projects that integrate the commercialization of
these productions.
This meant that industrialization was a campaign proposal
Election in 2020: “Increase production, ensure safety.”
with food sovereignty, and believe me, little by little we will get there
Fulfillment of this wish, this longing of Bolivians to have a country
industrialized,” concluded the head of state.
arc/jpm