To ensure competitiveness of Gulf Cooperation Council iron and steel producers in the global market, the region needs a major overhaul and expansion of its transportation network, Amsteel chief executive Onur Yigiter told delegates at the Saudi International Iron & Steel Conference 2022 in Riyadh, for which Kallanish is programme partner.

GCC producers undoubtedly enjoy comparatively low energy supply rates, making their production costs highly competitive. However, the industry still has "a long way to go" in terms of available transportation infrastructure, which plays a vital part in the supply chain, Yigiter said on Tuesday.

"We need a modern, upgraded transportation infrastructure, which will reduce transportation costs, in order to realise the potential," Yigiter says. GCC producers are well on their way in pursuing the task, having already reduced the time of discharging cargoes at ports, which has increased competitiveness.

But they are still behind leading low-cost producers, who have production facilities closely situated to their primary raw material resources and ports, and have transportation infrastructure in place, such as in Brazil, the CIS and some Chinese mills.

"If the plant is situated in Riyadh, it will be less competitive compared to those producers. We need more professional transportation companies and producers, from trucks, to infrastructure networks, and to ports," Yigiter concluded.

He adds that the Saudi 2030 Vision programme is aiding the task, estimating it will take around ten years from now for GCC producers to become the lowest-cost producers globally.