Construction of the direct reduced iron (DRI) plant of Iranian iron and steel producer Sepid Dasht Steel has so far progressed by about 52 percent while construction of the producer's steelmaking plant has progressed by around 13 percent. The officials in charge of the construction project estimate that the DRI plant will be put into operation in the second quarter of 2011, with the steel plant, which will produce slab, being put into operation in the first quarter of 2012 .
Sepid Dasht Steel, located in the central Iranian province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtyari, is one of eight mini-mills with 800,000 mt capacity per year being built by Iran in underdeveloped regions of the country.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, in February this year Iran sold government bonds worth Rials 5 trillion (about $500 million) in order to raise finance for the construction of the eight mini-mills in question. Construction of the mills had been frustrated due to the shortage of financial resources.