The collapse of a building under construction during the earthquake in Bangkok on March 28 has prompted the Thai government to re-examine building safety. Thailand's Ministry of Industry is pushing to phase out the outdated induction furnace (IF) steelmaking process and replace it with an electric arc furnace (EAF), citing ongoing difficulties in quality control in IF production and serious environmental issues. In contrast, electric arc furnace (EAF) technology uses electricity to melt steel, has excellent impurity removal, operates as a closed system, reduces dust and gas emissions, and provides more reliable and consistent quality control.

It is understood that Thailand's current capacity of the steel produced by EAF is 4.3 million tons per year. The quantity is enough to meet the country's demand for 2.8 million tons of steel bars. However, due to fierce competition from imported steel from China, some EAF operators in Thailand are facing pressure to close their plants, which has also exacerbated concerns about tight supply.