ASSB’s blast furnace 2 has been successfully blown in, a significant milestone in the completion of Malaysia’s largest steel complex.

The plant, which will boast the highest levels of automation in the country, is being financed, built and operated by Chinese enterprises.

Designed and package-supplied by CISDI, it is expected to produce 3.50 million tonnes of steel a year.

Blast Furnace 2 was blown in on August 24 and as it enters pilot production stage, ASSB becomes a new reference for CISDI’s expertise in creating overseas Greenfield full-process steel plants. Previous references are Baosteel Zhanjiang and Formosa Ha Tinh.

The two blast furnaces at ASSB, designed and supplied by CISDI

ASSB, the most advanced steel complex in Malaysia

The 60 years of engineering experience and package supply expertise won CISDI the contracts for ASSB’s general design and plant engineering, the design and package supply of the stockyard, blast furnaces, rolling mills, BOFs, LF and CCMs.

CISDI is also responsible for the EPC-based services which cover all the steel production processes - reheating furnaces, procurement and equipment management.

Fact file:

Malaysia’s state-of-the-art integrated mill features:

●     530,000-tonne intelligent stockyard

●     Two 1,080-cubic-metre blast furnaces

●     Two 198-square-metre sintering machines

●     Two 100-tonne BOFs

●     One LF

●     Three CCMs

ASSB milestones:

●     ASSB was founded in April 2014 on a 288 hectare site.

●     Construction started on November 21, 2016

●     Rolling mills were completed on December 28, 2017

●     Blast furnace 1 was blown-in on June 6, 2018, along with the BOF 1 and CCM 2 five days later. Its CCM 3 was started up a week later.

●     Phase I completed as scheduled when BOF 2 started up on August 16, followed by CCM 1 a week later.

Artist’s view of CISDI’s general design for the ASSB complex

An aerial view of ASSB’s complex site

Making an impact on the Belt and Road route

ASSB is the first major project at the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park.

Kuantan, the biggest city on East Coast in Malaysia, is expected to boom because of the new steel complex.

Malaysia’s steel sector has mainly comprised of light section mills with a low degree of automation, limited techniques and product quality. The majority of medium and heavy sections and plates had to be imported.

The development of ASSB brings to Malaysia advanced technologies and high-level automation which will enable the country to produce 3.50 million tonnes of bars and wire rods and H sections a year and potentially world-class product quality.

CISDI has contributed its patented intelligent stockyard, SACS BOF and more core technologies and products to this game-changing steel complex.

Already the construction and production of ASSB have brought about the training of some 3,000 technicians. The direct economic contribution ratio will be $2 billion a year.

In addition, ASSB will create work for local support industries and connect upstream and downstream services.

CISDI’s intelligent stockyard at ASSB

The CISDI-SACS BOF being charged with hot metal, a successful application of the patented four-point linkage suspension converter

CISDI’s stockyard expert is pictured during a training session with ASSB employees

One of CISDI’s experts runs through site instructions with an ASSB worker

CISDI - pioneers exporting China’s technology and equipment

 Of the world’s top 50 steel enterprises, 41 are CISDI clients.

CISDI has opened subsidiaries and branches in Brazil, India, Vietnam, the UK, USA, Turkey and Malaysia, enabling the company to better understand the needs of each country’s steel producers.

As a result, CISDI has undertaken a number of large projects in those regions – Formosa Ha Tinh Steel in Vietnam, ASSB in Malaysia, TATA Steel Kalinganagar’s blast furnace 2, and TATA UK’s Port Talbot finishing mill.

CISDI can fulfill full-process services export, from consulting to engineering, package supply, project management and operations management.

In line with the company’s globalisation strategy, CISDI is committed to building more connections with the world’s steel markets and providing competitive total solutions and technical services for new facilities on the Belt and Road Initiative and the rebuild of stock facilities for European and American plants. 

An aerial view of Formosa Ha Tinh Steel in Vietnam, CISDI’s first systematic export for a 10-million-tonne new plant