HÀ NỘI — Hoà Phát Group on Thursday signed a technology supply agreement with Germany’s SMS Group that will enable the steelmaker to roll high-speed rail tracks in the first quarter of 2027.

Under the deal, SMS Group will provide the technology and a production line for manufacturing special steel with a designed capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year. This facility is part of a VNĐ14 trillion (US$540 million) investment project by Hoà Phát in Dung Quất, Quảng Ngãi Province.

With this deal, Hoà Phát is expected to become the only producer in Southeast Asia that can manufacture high-speed rail tracks.

The facility will be built in 20 months and release its first products in the first quarter of 2027, Hoà Phát Group Chairman Trần Đinh Long said. First products are expected to be steel railway tracks and structural steel (U, I, H and V shaped bars) which will be used for key national railway projects and exports.

“This is the most advanced European production line," Long said, adding that it will enable the local firm to manufacture steel rails up to 100 metres long with exceptional straightness, flatness and surface hardness that meet global standards for high-speed railways.

The final products will conform to international standards such as EN 13674 (EU), JIS E1102 (Japan) and TB/T2344 (China).

Currently, there are few steelmakers in the world capable of producing steel high-speed rail tracks, including Voestalpine (Austria), JFE (Japan), Baosteel (China) and JWS Steel (Italy). — BIZHUB/VNS