Saudi Arabia-based Al Yamamah Steel Industries has taken another step toward the development of its planned billet production facility. On August 24, its subsidiary Al Yamamah Company for Reinforcing Steel Bars secured SAR 500 million ($133 million) in financing from Arab National Bank, with the funds to be used for the construction of the new steel billet plant.
The project has been under development for some time, with Al Yamamah having already taken several steps to support the investment. Previously, the company moved ahead with a SAR 300 million capital increase at its reinforcing steel subsidiary, while Al Yamamah committed SAR 75.6 million of its own resources to the subscription. This was followed in July by a SAR 270 million agreement with Italian plantmaker Danieli for the manufacture, supply and installation of billet production equipment, with the contract expected to run for two and a half years.
Although the latest financing announcement did not provide details regarding the location or production capacity of the plant, earlier information related to the project identified Yanbu as the site and indicated a planned billet capacity of around 1 million mt per year. The new facility will expand Al Yamamah's presence into billet production and support the company's longer-term plans to develop a more integrated steel production structure in Saudi Arabia.
