Uzbekistan-based steel producer Uzmetkombinat has announced its intention to invest in 2009 about $4 million in the modernization of its steelmaking production facilities.
Accordingly, Uzmetkombinat placed an order with the Ukrainian Agbor Engineering Ltd. for the reconstruction of its pump accumulator station at the plant's electric arc furnace (EAF) DSP-100 UMK. The project, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2009, will allow Uzmetkombinat to increase the EAF's production capacity by 60,000 mt per year.
In 2008, Uzmetkombinat invested about $9.5 million for modernization and for technical and equipment upgrades of the mill. During the period in question Uzmetkombinat completed the modernization of its EAF DSP-100 UMK, increasing its capacity by 100,000 mt to 650,000 mt of steel per year, finished the reconstruction of its pusher-type reheat furnace at the plant's longs rolling workshop No. 2, which will allow Uzmetkombinat to reduce natural gas consumption and, thereby, to decrease the production cost by about $473,500 per year, and completed the modernzation of its ball rolling mill, increasing its production capacity by 160,000 mt per year.
Accordingly, in 2008, Uzmetkombinat shipped 675,000 mt of crude steel and 650,000 mt of hot rolled coil.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Uzmetkombinat's modernization program for 2007-2011, includes nine investment projects at a total cost of $50 million.