The Russian steel producer Severstal has announced the receipt of approval from the Investment Council under the governor of Nizhniy Novgorod region for the construction of its new longs mini mill in Dzerzhinsk's industrial site.
The new mini mill, with a projected annual production capacity of one million metric tons of long products, requires about $500 million in investment.
Commenting on the product mix, general director of Severstal's Cherepovets Plant Mr. Anatolyi Kruchinin has stated, "Today construction remains the fastest growing market segment, and analysts insist that this upward trend will persist. By 2010, the Volga Federal District - as well as the Central and North-Western Federal Districts - will be experiencing a shortage of construction steel. The high-quality rebar experience accumulated by Severstal at its Cherepovets Plant offers a solution to this problem. Even today the share of high-quality thermostrengthened rebar, the type enjoying the highest market demand, in total CMP output delivered to construction companies stands at about 80%".
The new mill is Severstal's second Russia-based project of this kind after the company's recently announced plans to build a similar mill in Saratov region.