Japan’s Deloitte and Germany’s Roland Berger consulting firms are interested in offering their services to draw up Viet Nam’s steel sector master plan, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said.

The ministry’s Department of Heavy Industry said that in the end of February, the two consulting firms had sent letters expressing interest. The two foreign firms are eligible to become consultants who can help with the master plan, it said, adding that it has put in place an advisory team to select the suitable agency based on their capabilities.

It will be the selected consulting firm’s job to determine the development trend of the steel sector in the world and the region. The firm will also have to assess Viet Nam’s competitiveness in the sector compared to other countries, help choose contractors and technologies and evaluate the environmental impact of implementing the master plan.

The department said that before this a foreign consulting firm has not been hired to draw up the master plan. It hopes that an independent overseas company will be able to offer an objective view about the country’s steel sector.

On December 28, 2016, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh approved the department’s draft of the master plan for steel production till 2025, with a vision till 2035. — VNS