Thirty years or let us say three decades are the real age of the Arab Steel magazine the first issue of which was published in December 1972. Had the first issue of the magazine derived the strength of issuing it from the fact that it held a project for the future, the new issue bearing a new number reflecting the continuity of this magazine over the past three decades derives its strength from the fact that its project which set out thirty years ago has become a truth and is no longer a dream waiting to come true.
Proceeding from this point, we should start talking on the message of the passage of thirty years to the issuance of the first issue of the Arab Steel magazine. From this point we can say that the magazine has already had the justification for its pride of its capability to continue and get developed over the past thirty years. It has been a mirror for the evolution of the Arab steel industry reflecting its achievements, and it has been a bridge connecting what has been achieved of development of this industry in the Arab countries to what has been attained of an accelerated technological development by the world steel industry. This makes for the magazine a point to add to the group of points of which it is proud, namely it has been a window opened to most, if not all, what has been achieved of technological and structural development in the field of this industry worldwide.
Issuing the December 2002issue of the magazine would allow us on the anniversary of the passage of thirty years to the issuance of the first issue to stop for a short while at some main stations of the development of the Arab steel industry. Of the most prominent stations are the following:

• When the magazine was first issued in 1972 , production of the Arab countries of steel products was 1.1 million tons, according to the statistics published in the first issue of the magazine which were based on the statistics of 1971. The volume of production has doubled more than ten times during the period coming between issuing the first issue of the magazine and the present issue which is published in December 2002. The present production of steel products is estimated to be in the region of 13.2 million tons.
• Covering the requirements of the Arab markets was dependent mainly on imports. The volume of imports of steel products in 1971 was estimated by 3.1 million tons, that is to say, three times the volume of production, while imports have declined in most Arab markets and they have come to be estimated by 6-8 million tons, that is to say, a little bit over half of the quantity of production. Excluding the imported quantities of billets, which are considered a semi-finished product, the volume of imports of the finished products has diminished to become within the limits of one-third of the quantity produced now.
• The average per capita consumption of steel products in the Arab countries based on the statistics of 1971 is estimated by 33.3 kgs per capita. This average of consumption has increased in 2001 to be double this average figure, even though this figure differs from one country to another, as the average per capita consumption in some Arab countries is still at the level of perhaps less than the level which was prevailing in 1971. This, of course, is due to the growing population and to having no new industries set up in these countries. There is a number of countries where the per capita average consumption increased several times compared to that of 1971.
• A significantly clear development has come to appear on the map of the Arab steel production. While the number of the Arab steel mills was 24 mills distributed over 12 Arab countries, three of which were integrated mills, the number of the small mills and integrated mills now exceed 60 mills , four of which are integrated mills, and they are distributed over 17 Arab country. And while most mills were concentrated in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Lebanon, this industry did not have any mentionable existence in the countries of the Arabian Gulf, but since the beginning of 1980s a change had begun to appear on the map of the Arab steel industry. This industry has begun its existence strongly in all countries of the Arabian Gulf. Never one of the Arabian Gulf countries has not now one or more than one steel mill. One of the largest Arab countries producing steel is now located in Saudi Arabia. Production of Saudi Arabia Iron and Steel Company reached 3.4 million tons of steel products in 2001, occupying thereby the rank 62 among the top 95 steel producing countries at the world level. This reflects an important orientation in the industrialization strategy in the Arabian Gulf countries and reveals one of the basic features of the change occurring to the steel industry during the past three decades.
• Of the significant stations at which a short stop would be made is the development taking place in the mix of the steel production. While the steel production at the beginning of 1970s was concentrated on production of long products, the decades of 1980s and 1990s have witnessed a notable change; steel production in the Arab countries took the trend of producing flat products. The production capacity of flat products in the Arab countries reached 3.7 million tons in 2002. Production of flat products is concentrated now in four Arab countries; they are Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Libya. This has brought about a new balance in the mix of products which concentrated by more than 95% on production of long products.
• Perhaps one of the most prominent changes witnessed by the steel industry over the past three decades, especially in the last decade, is the entry of the private sector into the domain of this industry. This industry was concentrated in the public sector until the beginning of the 1970s, but since the 1990s this industry began to be opened to the private sector which has become dominating the largest part of the steel production at the Arab level. Ezz-Al Dkheila Company in Egypt is considered the remarkable example of this change. It is one of the private sector companies which has a capacity of production of both long and flat products estimated by 5 million tons. It is the largest single company for steel production at the Arab level. This change has also created in the ownership of the steel industry a difference in the look to this industry which used to focus at the beginning of launching it on the conception of profitability in the social sense and on the role of this industry as a centre to attract labour, while this focus has become now on the economic profitability. This has resulted in the contraction of the role of the labour in this industry.

Opening of this industry to the private sector has also resulted in increasing the competitiveness of this industry and its interest in opening foreign markets. This has been reflected in the growth of the Arab steel exports during the past years. The steel exports during the decade of 1990s are estimated as an average by about 20 ? 25% of the total steel production.
These are some of the stations at which we have deemed it to stop at the anniversary of the passage of thirty years to issuing the first issue of the Arab steel magazine. These stations mark a positive development in favour of the steel industry. The last stage which still makes the remaining part looking for a formula for achieving it is:  Co-operation and coordination within the framework of realizing the common development and not only the mere isolated development related to every single company.
This station is imposed by the present orientations of the steel industry towards merger and consolidation and entering into partnerships and alliances to encounter the present and future challenges.

Arab Steel