Australia's largest steelmaker BlueScope Steel Ltd (Bluescope) has announced the resumption of construction of the second metallic coating line with in-line painting capability at its plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, which is expected to be commissioned in mid-2011.
"Domestic market conditions, in particular residential steel demand, have improved. Since May 2009, our existing metal coating line has been operating at full capacity and we have been importing finished steel from our other operations in the region to meet Indonesian customer demand. We believe that now is the right time to complete this important project and boost our capacity in this key market," BlueScope Steel's CE Asia Sanjay Dayal stated.
Bluescope's Cilegon plant with its existing line has an annual production capacity of 100,000 mt of metallic coated and 40,000 mt of painted steel production. The second line will produce thin gauge coil of 0.2-0.4 mm for residential construction applications. After the completion of the project, Bluescope will be able to increase the total combined capacity of its Cilegon plant to 265,000 mt per annum of metallic coated and 160,000 mt per annum of painted steel.
Bluescope has spent a total of US$86 million on the project to date. The estimated cost to complete the project is a further US$40 million, with approximately US$10 million to be invested in FY 2010, and US$30 million to be invested in FY 2011.