Hamriyah Steel has started operation of its 1Mt/y rolling mill in the UAE.
Hamriyah is a JV between Russian steel group Metalloinvest and the Abu Dhabi government.
The first 600t of rebar was set to be produced by the start of March and production is expected to reach 1Mt of rebar by the end of the year. The project cost $150M.
Hamriyah Steel will produce rebar of 10-40mm diameter, meeting both local and international standards such as BS4449, ASTM A615 and DIN 488. The plant will be equipped with thermo-processing technology, designed to improve the qualities of low carbon steel by surface hardening and self-tempering. Thermo-processing will allow the company to obtain yield strengths of up to 550MPa with very good specification figures for welding and elongation. The mill will ensure access to Middle East markets for Metalloinvest.
Hamriyah signed a contract with SMS Meer for the construction and delivery of equipment for the mill built in the Sharjah Free Economic Zone. The contract stipulated that SMS Meer would implement turnkey construction of the rolling mill by June/July 2009. The plant intends to claim 20% of the UAE market by 2011.