Uzbekistan commissions first hot-rolled steel sheet plant costing $840 mln

TASHKENT. July 13 (Interfax) - JSC Uzbek Metallurgical Plant has commissioned a casting and rolling complex at a cost of $839 million which will enable Uzbekistan to start producing hot-rolled steel sheet for the first time.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the launch ceremony during a visit to the city of Bekabad, his press office said.

"The new casting and rolling complex will elevate the introduction of energy-efficient technologies and digital solutions at the plant to a new level, while enhancing labor productivity and the quality of manufactured products. The complex will go down in history as Uzbekistan's first facility for the production of hot-rolled steel sheets," the press office said.

The new complex, on a 18-hectare site, will meet Uzbekistan's growing demand for steel products and create 1,200 jobs.

The plant plans to increase its total production to 2 million tonnes, with an additional 1.04 million tonnes of hot-rolled coils. Built in collaboration with Italy's Danieli, the continuous steel casting system is integrated with all process equipment for the first time and is operated from a single control panel, the press service said.

It said the priority was to meet the plant's raw material needs through domestic resources. Uzbekistan possesses 1.5 billion tonnes of iron ore reserves. Over the next three to four years, steel production is expected to reach 1 million tonnes annually following the commissioning of the Tebinbulak deposit. The Surun-ota deposit will supply 600,000 tonnes of iron ore feedstock. To process this material, construction will begin on a modern metallurgical plant costing $180 million at Uzbek Metallurgical Plant.

Over the next three years, steel ball production lines will be gradually modernized through $30 million in investment, increasing their annual capacity from 250,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes.

In addition, the Industrial Park of Ecological Technologies of Uzbekistan will be established on the plant's territory. This year, the industrial park will begin implementing six projects worth a total of $70 million for the production of large-diameter pipes, overhead cranes, and filtration equipment. These projects will create an additional 660 jobs.

Mirziyoyev said that Uzbekistan had consistently been implementing large-scale reforms aimed at bringing the mining and metallurgical industry to a qualitatively new technological level. Over the past decade, around $2 billion in foreign investment has been attracted to the industry, and metal product output had reached 3 million tonnes.

Over the next five years, Uzbekistan plans to attract $180 billion in foreign investment, implement social and industrial infrastructure projects costing $27 billion. "Such ambitious goals will increase demand for metal products by 50% compared to current levels," the press office said.

Uzbek Metallurgical Plant is Uzbekistan's only producer of long steel products and steel grinding balls.