Ghadir Iranian direct reduced iron (DRI) plant has been launched in the central Iranian city of Ardakan, with a ceremony attended by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The annual production capacity of the plant is reported to be 800,000 mt. Construction of Ghadir Iranian plant began five years ago. The cost of the project is estimated at IRR 175 billion ($0.016 billion) plus €70 million ($99 million).
Iran is the world's second largest producer of direct reduced iron, after India. "Iran's steel production capacity is currently 19 million mt annually, and we have made plans for the figure to reach 42 million mt a year," President Ahmadinejad said. The output of the plant will be supplied to steel production units nationwide.