Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau said that it will invest USD 253 million in its Peruvian unit SiderPeru to quadruple output.

Output will rise to between 1.2 million tonnes and 1.4 million tonnes from 300,000 tonnes a year currently.

The spending for the plant, located in Chimbote, will include a new lamination plant for long steel products, which will boost their annual production by as much as four times to 1.2 million from the current 300,000 tonnes.

The company said that the investment plan contemplates a new electric furnace with a 360,000 tonnes annual capacity, which would about double current capacity of the existing furnace.

It added that "The new investments are part of the USD 480 million investment plan, which had been in evaluation after it was announced in February 2011."

Source - Reuters

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