By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat Leading Philippine steel firm SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp. has broken ground for the country’s first steel beams manufacturing plant that will create 1,500 new jobs. SteelAsia logo (Photo courtesy of www.steelasia.com/ SteelAsia Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Yao the two production lines of integrated steelmaking and steel section rolling in Lemery, Batangas will create 1,500 jobs. Aside from the 1,500 direct jobs, Yao said the project will also have a multiplier effect that has the potential of creating thousands of additional jobs from various industries that will support the plant’s operations. “The Lemery Works steel plant is of national significance because it will produce the country’s first steel beams, sheet piles, and shapes which are used to build infrastructure such as bridges, airports, power and telecommunication transmission towers, seaports, and reclamation projects,” said Yao during the groundbreaking ceremonies held recently. Yao noted that all of these products are currently imported. Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas said during the ground breaking event that the completion of the Lemery Works project will make the Batangas Province a leader in steel production, consistent with the Provincial Government’s vision of long-term development and prosperity. The steelmaking facility will recycle steel scrap which is currently being exported. “When you export and process our resources in another country, it is like creating jobs in another country,” Yao said. “By recycling steel scrap in the Philippines, we keep job generation within the Philippines,” he added. He also noted that by processing local steel scrap instead of importing beams, the country stands to save precious foreign exchange. Lemery Works is among the steel investment projects that SteelAsia reported to President Rodrigo Duterte in a recent meeting in Malacanang. The President expressed his support for the project especially since that it will create jobs and accelerate the country’s industrialization.