The chief of the Iranian Mines & Mining Industries Development & Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), Ahmad Ali Haratinik, has stated that the installation of Esfahan Steel Company's third blast furnace will be completed in January 2008. Mr Haratinik went on to add that the new furnace will add an annual capacity of 1.4 million metric tons to Esfahan Steel's existing capacity of 2.2 million metric tons per year.
The IMIDRO chief also pointed out that a further development project to boost Esfahan Steel's annual capacity up to five million metric tons has already been approved by the Iranian authorities and is to be launched after the commissioning of the producer's third blast furnace.