Brazil's BNDES to finance steel slab project

Brazil’s BNDES to finance steel slab project

Recent market news reveals that Brazil's National Development Bank BNDES has agreed to finance $110 million of the total investment of $700 million for the project of establishing Ceara plant. The plant will produce 1.5 million tons of steel slabs per annum. BNDES signed the letter of intent for the project with Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce SA (CVRD), Korea's Dongkuk Steel Mill Corp, Italy's Danieli and Ceare government. The plant will be completed by April 2006 and the shares of each partner will be determined in the coming months. BNDES is also reported to be planning to offer around $1 billion for steel projects in the coming years.