JFE : J&M Steel Solutions Makes its First Shipment of a Bridge Block –New Plant in Yangon City, J&MSS Holds a Grand Opening Ceremony–

JFE Engineering Corporation (President and CEO: Hisanori Kanou; Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) and Myanmar's Ministry of Construction established J&M Steel Solutions Company Limited, a joint venture company committed to infrastructure construction, in November 2013. They then commenced the construction of a plant that fabricates steel structures such as bridges in Thaketa Township, Yangon City the following December. The main facilities of the new plant started operating in April 2014 by fabricating a steel bridge, and the first bridge block has just been shipped on July 20. We are pleased to announce that at the same time as the first shipment, the construction of all facilities has been completed, and a grand opening ceremony was held on July 20.

Since the establishment of the company, J&M Steel Solutions has received orders from Myanmar's Ministry of Construction for steel bridge design, fabrication and erection-planning regarding bridges such as the Than Lwin Bridge to be constructed in Kayah State in eastern Myanmar and the Htee Gyaint Bridge across the Irrawaddy River in Sagaing Region in the north of the country. In addition to these orders, JFE Engineering subcontracts the fabrication work which it receives from countries other than Myanmar to J&M Steel Solutions, and as a result the company's order backlog already amounts to as much as 7,000 tons (weight of steel).
The bridge block of this first shipment is part of a 200-ton truss bridge for one of Myanmar's neighboring countries, Laos. The plant is going to continue fabricating more blocks and is due to complete shipping them by August.

Development of transportation infrastructure, such as roads and railways, as well as logistics infrastructure, including port terminals are vital for the economic growth that Myanmar aims to achieve. Under such circumstances, J&M Steel Solutions is committed to contributing to the country's domestic fabrication ratio which the country strives to increase, while developing itself by introducing Japanese advanced technological skills from JFE Engineering*1 in such fields as harbor & coastal piers and container cranes.

Meanwhile, JFE Engineering will continue to fully support the operations of the new plant of J&M Steel Solutions and leverage it as the mother plant for infrastructure projects in regions including Southeast Asian countries, the Middle East and Africa in its effort to expand its overseas business.

JFE Engineering and J&M Steel Solutions are both dedicated to further reinforcing the trust they have established with Myanmar*2, and to offering their engineering expertise not only to the country's transportation and logistics infrastructure, but also to the environmental and energy fields, to contribute to the country's development.

■ Outline of J&M Steel Solutions

■ Grand opening ceremony (20 July 2014)

□Ceremony of Opening Signboard(From left), President Kanou (JFE Engineering),
H.E Kyaw Lwin, Minister of Construction, Ambassador Higuchi (Embassy of Japan in Myanmar)

□ First shipment of a bridge block