The Qatar Steel Company awarded a contract to Siemens VAI Metals Technologies for the supply of process technology for a new steel mill in Mesaieed, Qatar.

The new mill is designed for an annual billet production output of roughly 1.1Mt/y and is scheduled to go into operation during the first quarter of 2013.

The order includes melting furnaces, a continuous billet caster and a dedusting plant. The plant was originally intended to replace old equipment in the existing steel mill, a project awarded to Siemens in Summer 2010. Because of growing demand for steel in the Gulf region, the new equipment will now be installed in a newly constructed steel mill and is being designed for higher production capacity. As a result of this expansion, the total contract volume has risen to a mid-range double-digit million euro figure.