ArcelorMittal Annaba, Algeria’s largest steel producer, may be on track to re-start its coke batteries.
The company is expected to invest around €500M ($686M) to modernise the El Hadjar steelworks, according to some reports.
The main investments include restarting the plant’s coke batteries, which stopped working at the end of 2009, as well as improvements to blast furnace number 2’s productivity and the construction of a DRI plant.
The coke plant at the moment has a nominal capacity of 600kt/y and would employ 300 workers.
ArcelorMittal Annaba explained that the €500m investment is part of a plan that has yet to be approved. Vincent Le Gouic, the mill’s director, mentioned plans to modernise the hot dip galvanising line by Q3 2011.
Source Arab Iron and Steel magazine