Belarus-based Byelorussian Steel Works (BMZ) has stated that its capital investments totaled €68 million in the first quarter this year, including investments of around €61 million in modernization.
Since the beginning of the current year, several key modernization projects have been finished: reconstruction of the arc furnace No. 1, of the continuous billet casting machine No. 2, of dust and gas catchers No. 1 and the construction of the new lime kiln plant No. 3 (LKP-3). All these facilities allow the company to increase production and improve product quality, making production more effective and economical.
At present, a high percentage of the company's financial resources is invested in the construction of the light-section mill with an annual capacity of 700,000 mt, potentially increasing to 1 million mt of rolled products per year. This facility will allow to increase the output of high value-added steel and wire products at BMZ and its Rechitsa metizny plant.
In 2013, capital investments of BMZ totaled €285 million, with €211 million invested in modernization.