Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro announced the country’s state-run steelmaker Sidor will run at three shifts as a way to boost production.
The company, which remained halted for much of H1 due to lack of electricity, resumed billet output in July, and restarted a rebar rolling mill in August.
According to state-run television network VTV, Maduro “guaranteed” between 400 and 700 megawatts to each shift, so Sidor can keep running.
“Since rains didn’t allow us to recover the Guri [dam], we’ll start three special production shifts,” Maduro announced, adding he has ordered all “needed megawatts” to increase Sidor’s output.
Late in July, a Venezuelan government official said Sidor should end 2016 producing 2 million mt of steel. As for 2017, Sidor is expected to produce some 4.3 million mt of steel.