UAE-based Hamriyah Steel to reach full capacity by February 2011

UAE-based rebar producer Hamriyah Steel, a 80:20 joint venture of Russian steel and iron ore producer Metalloinvest and Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the ruler and emir of Abu Dhabi, expects to reach its full capacity of one million mt by February 2011, Reuters has reported citing Hamriyah Steel's general manager Shukhrat Nishanov.
 
Accordingly, Hamriyah was commissioned in late January this year and is now producing around 1,000 mt of rebar per day. So far the plant's production is being sold in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and, once production is ramped up to full capacity, more markets in the Middle East, such as Iraq, will be targeted, said Mr. Nishanov. "Right now I think the biggest concern for the market is volatility in prices but we see that demand in the Middle East is still strong," added Mr. Nishanov.
 
"Our company in Russia (Metalloinvest) is a very large producer of iron ore, so all of the feedstock required is shipped direct from Russia and we do not have to rely on other countries or companies to supply us," said Mr. Nishanov, adding that over 60,000 mt of feedstock is already in storage at the Hamriyah plant.
 
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Hamriyah plans to produce about 700,000 mt of rebar in 2010, and intends to claim 20 percent of the UAE rebar market by the time it reaches its designed capacity. Hamriyah Steel is specialized in the production of rebar of 10-40 mm diameter, meeting both local and international standards such as BS4449, ASTM A615 and DIN 488.