Mittal Steel bids for another Ukrainian asset

Mittal Steel said on Wednesday that the company has submitted an $800 million bid to Ukraine's government to complete construction of the Soviet-era KGOKOR iron ore plant. The company, which is the biggest foreign investor in Ukraine, said it would be able to produce 10.5 million tons of pellets annually at KGOKOR. Mittal Steel also hinted that it would be able to organize cooperation with Romania and Slovakia, to which belong 28 percent and 15.6 percent of stakes in KGOKOR respectively, in the case of favorable decision of Ukrainian government. Just to remind, Ukrainian government announced last month that it wants to set up a joint venture to complete the Soviet-era KGOKOR iron ore plant, which would cost at least $400 millions. Apart from Mittal Steel, a number of Ukrainian and Russian companies were interested in the project.