Russia to invest $12 billion in steel industry modernization in next five years

According to Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the next five years investments in the implementation of the Russian iron and steel industry's priority modernization projects will amount to Ruble 370 billion (about $12 billion).
 
Over the past ten years, the Russian iron and steel industry has been significantly upgraded. The total capital investment for the period from 2000 to 2010 totaled about Ruble 900 billion (approx. $29 billion).
 
All investment projects are implemented within the framework of a general strategy for the upgrading of the Russian iron and steel industry, as developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade until 2020. The projects are directed primarily at ensuring the demand of domestic consumers - i.e., in the automotive, fuel and energy, shipbuilding, aviation, defense and transport engineering sectors.
 
Meanwhile, according to Severstal's CEO Alexey Mordashov, Russia's steel output will recover to the peak level of 2007 no earlier than 2012, with the government's sponsorship of infrastructure projects to support this trend.