South Korea's second largest steel producer Hyundai Steel is considering an investment of about Won 2.3 trillion ($2.4 billion) in the construction of a third blast furnace by 2015 to cope with domestic and regional demand for steel used in the automobile and shipbuilding industries.
Currently, Hyundai Steel has two blast furnaces under construction. They are expected to commence production in 2010. The introduction of the new blast furnaces will allow Hyundai Steel to compete with the country's largest steel producer POSCO in the auto sheet and shipbuilding plate markets.