South Korean steel goliathPOSCOhas announced that it is accelerating efforts to ensure a successful steel mill construction project inIndonesia, hosting technology exchange sessions and mutual benchmarking initiatives with its joint venture (JV) partnerIndonesia's largest steelmaker PT Krakatau Steel.
According to aPOSCOstatement, five managers from Krakatau Steel are visitingPOSCO's Gwangyang Works until October 23 to examine the specifications of the iron-making facilities in detail and discuss the construction order format for the blast furnace and sintering equipment to be installed inIndonesia. Each manager represents a specialty area including sintering, cokes and raw material.
The project of two stages, which will be built on 350 hectares, is worth about US$3 billion and has an estimated capacity of six million mt. As the steel mill will be constructed on idle land owned by Krakatau Steel, initial investment costs are expected to be low.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Krakatau Steel had announced that it will begin construction of the planned integrated steel plant withPOSCOon October 28, 2010.
In early August this yearPOSCOand PT Krakatau Steel officially set up a JV for the construction and operation of a six million mt integrated mill. The two companies are participating in the JV with shares initially standing at 70 percent and 30 percent forPOSCOand Krakatau Steel respectively, with the option for Krakatau Steel to increase its share to up to 45 percent after stabilization of the business.