MEED reported that the Jordan based Mass Global Investment Company is currently conducting a feasibility study for a new steel smelter in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The company said that the facility will be located in the city of Erbil in the semi autonomous state and have a capacity of 1 million tonnes per year of steel.

Mr Ahmad Saleh chairman of Mass Global said that the budget for the project is expected to be between USD 250 million to USD 300 million. No funding will be sought and the whole facility will be paid for on the company’s balance sheet.

He said that the smelter will be Mass Global’s first foray into the steel industry. The project developer is currently concentrating on the construction of three gas fired power stations in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Steel demand in both Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq is expected to rise as development projects for the country’s oilfields and subsequent infrastructure projects are brought online over the next decade.

(Sourced from MEED)