ET reported that ArcelorMittal is in talks with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a 6-million tonne integrated steel plant in the state at an investment of about USD 3 billion.

According to the report, the proposal to set up a plant in Chhattisgarh was taken up with the state government recently. The report added that the discussions are at an initial stage.

The ET report quoted Mr VK Bhatnagar CEO of ArcelorMittal India, while refusing to divulge the details of the project, as saying that “Delay in getting the land for our projects in Orissa and Jharkhand wouldn’t stop us from exploring other opportunities. We are studying and evaluating various options, including Chhattisgarh, as it is rich in mineral resources. However, nothing has been finalized so far.”

ArcelorMittal has already announced two integrated steel plants of 12 million tonnes capacity, one each in Jharkhand and Orissa, at a total investment of USD 24 billion. With this proposal, India would account for 30 million tonnes for ArcelorMittal, making India as one of the most important countries.

IANS reported that Jai Balaji Industries hopes to start work on a new integrated steel, cement and power plant in Purulia in November if the West Bengal government releases the required land soon.

Mr Aditya Jajodia CMD of Jai Balaji on the sidelines of the it's annual general meeting told reporters that "We hope the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation will hand over the requisite land soon so that we can start work on the Purulia project from November.”

Mr Jajodia said that "We require a total of 3,800 acres for the entire project. For the first phase, we will require 1,200 acres and the government will soon provide us with the land, after which we can start the work.”

Mr Jajodia added that the project is expected to be completed within 7 years.

Jai Balaji is setting up a 5 million tonne integrated steel plant, a 3 million tonne cement plant and a 1,215 MW captive power plant on an investment of INR 16,000 crore. In the first phase of the project, which the company expects to complete within three years will have a 2 million tonne steel plant, 1 million tonne cement plant and 400 MW power plant. The investment for the first phase of the company will be INR 6,000 crore and financial closure for the first phase will be done within 6 month.

Exim news reported that POSCO IPPC and Daewoo Logistics Corporation of South Korea’s leading multinational corporations and Balaji Infra Projects Limited have formed a JV company to set up a steel distribution centre within Dighi port in Maharashtra. While POSCO-IPPC has a stake of 51% in the JV, Daewoo holds 29% and Balaji 20%.

The agreement was inked here last week by Mr Gil Ho Bang MD of POSCO IPPC, Mr Vijay Kalantri CMD of Balaji Infra Projects Limited and Mr Bong Seok Suh MD of Daewoo Logistics Corporation.

The steel distribution centre which will be spread over an approximate area of 9 acres within the port will import steel plates from various manufacturing sources of POSCO located abroad and process them for use by various industries located in India.

A total investment of nearly INR 250 crore is envisaged in the project including the setting up of dedicated steel handling berths etc. As per report, the company has guaranteed a minimum throughput of 1.65 million tonnes per year.

What is important to take note of now, however, is that the Indian steel industry suddenly finds itself in a completely different context. In the world of steel, every player remains familiar with the cyclical nature of the growth. Therefore, the slowdown should not have surprised any in the industry. But, none really expected this to have happened so fast. The steel super cycle seems to have been ended abruptly or really?”

“India’s steel dream looks to be fading away” This is how we started our last year’s steel report. With the added uncertainty, the industry’s plans are in total disarray. There are no questions on the opportunities this country has offered in steel. From all points of view, these have been strong and credible ones.”

But the recent great years in steel have supported strong capacity growth in the steel industry in India. The more competitive Brownfield expansion projects have started delivering results and more are expected to come. What has been extraordinarily interesting to note in the past few years is the growth of very small to mid size capacities.

The Indian steel industry is in a peculiar fix. The capacity could not be raised immediately because of their own strategic problems. The limited capacity in the country and higher global prices provided to them all the opportunities to make sufficient money themselves and raise their credibility in the global capital market. However, an impulsive government, given the high political value attached to inflation in India, intervened in the steel business more than it needed to do.

Despite the fact that the capacity expansions in India have been of recent origin, a huge chunk of the existing capacity is technologically outdated or is uniquely backward.

It will be premature to write India’s steel ambition off despite all the bad news surrounding it currently.”

“Indian Steel Projects: Ground Reality, Strategic Issues and Opportunities” from Steel and Natural Resources Strategy Research analyses the context each significant producer is placed in and identifies their core problems. It makes an objective assessment of the strength and weakness of each of the major projects, when they are expected to be completed and at what cost.

It takes a macro view of the emerging steel supply scenario till 2021.

This 115 page report with 35 tables, 12 charts, a number of annexure, three maps and an appendix looks at the steel industry’s future in India from a strategic point of view to guide the investors in the industry, capital goods industry, steel traders, raw materials suppliers and the policy makers in the government in their own individual planning for the future.

Report Summary:
1. Published: Sep 2008
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India is large market for import of steel scrap and this is the directory which is going to help many interested group to know this industry.

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This report covers name and product details of 1191 overseas scrap suppliers to India in alphabetical as well as location wise order. Look at the information you'll get in the 'Directory of Scrap Suppliers to India'

• Company name -1191 entries
• Address-1191 entries
• Email-1074
• Phone number-1140
• Fax number -431 entries

Format:
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It is reported that Indian Railway have generated INR 21499.66 crore of revenue earnings from freight traffic during April to August 2008 as compared to INR 17943.23 crore during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 19.82% YoY.

As per report railways carried 336.00 million tonnes of freight traffic during April to August 2008 as compared to 309.34 million tonnes carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 8.62% YoY. The Net Tonne Kilo Meters went up from 198140 million during April to August 2007 to 217231 million during April to August 2008, showing an increase of 9.64% YoY.

Performance in the month of August 2008

Earnings in INR Crores
Volume in million tonnes

ET reported that having shown some moderation during the past three weeks, inflation rose marginally to 12.4% as on September 6 from 12.1% recorded a week earlier.

Inflation rose mainly on account of the rise in primary and food articles. For instance, while primary articles were up by 1%, food articles rose 1.4% and non food articles 0.2%. Fuel, power and light, however, were down 0.2% and manufacturing products 0.1%.

Dun & Bradstreet in its economy forecast said that “The moderation in inflation during the past weeks can partly be attributed to the decline in international prices of crude oil and edible oils following the improved supply side conditions. However, despite a significant decline in global oil prices, with domestic prices of LPG, petrol and kerosene being regulated, it would take some time for inflation in fuel group to moderate substantially.”

Mr Shubhada Rao chief economist with Yes Bank said there was upward pressure on prices of manufacturing products and fruits, vegetables and pulses. He said that "In early August, the inflation rate was 12.63% the highest reading since annual numbers in the current data series became available in April 1995."

Mr Duvvuri Subbarao RBI governor said last week that inflation was showing signs of moderating, but it was too early to conclude whether this was a trend, signaling he would wait and see before taking any fresh steps. This would be the 24th consecutive week that inflation would be above the RBI’s 7% target by the end of March.

Continuing with its glorious tradition like previous years, employees of Steel Authority of India Limited bagged 15 out of total 28 Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskars -2007 winning 53% of total VRP Awards presented by Mr K H Muniyappa union minister of state for shipping, road transport and highways at Vigyan Bhawan.

Out of the 15 groups totaling 68 employees from SAIL's five plants, four are from SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant and Rourkela Steel Plant each, while three are from Durgapur Steel Plant and Bokaro Steel Plant and one from Salem Steel Plant.

It said that SAIL employees won the award in three different categories two awards under class 'A', six under class 'B' and seven under class 'C'. The winners under these classes received cash prizes of INR 75,000, INR 50,000 and INR 25,000 respectively along with a certificate of merit. These 15 innovative suggestions of the awardees have helped SAIL accrue total annual savings of INR 78.5 crore.

The Vishwakarma awards are given every year to workers of industrial undertakings for their innovative suggestions leading to cost reduction, improvement in quality, productivity and working conditions, etc.

One can have an idea about the importance of the construction industry in India from the fact that it is the second largest contributor to the GDP after agriculture. The industry provides employment to more than 3% of the population. Its market size is around USD 55 billion and is growing at around 7% to 8% per annually, faster than the GDP growth. As the Construction sector is growing faster than the country’s project GDP growth, there exist a tremendous potential for development in the related area.

“Directory of Construction Companies in India” is one of the top sources of information available on a construction companies in India. It is one of the most comprehensive and accurate directory of construction companies in India that ever published. This powerful directory is your connection to the entire construction companies in India.

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This report covers name and product details of 1000 Construction Companies in India in alphabetical as well as location wise order. Look at the information you'll get in the 'Directory of Construction Companies in India’
1. Company name -1000 entries
2. Address-1000 entries
3. Phone number-951
4. Fax number -652 entries
5. Mobile number-349
6. Email -749 entries
7. URL – 593

Format - PDF File (Total no of pages – 545), delivery by Email on receipt of payment of USD 950 or equivalent in INR. Additional charges would be levied for delivery of file on a CD or in printed form

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Project Today reported that Power Finance Corporation has identified locations for setting up 3 more large size power projects.

The 3 Ultra Mega Power Projects with generation capacity of 4,000 MW each will be set up in Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. Each project is estimated to cost about INR 16,000 crore each.

As per report, the process has already started but consultants are to be appointed and environmental clearances have to be done. The RfQ's are likely to be issued in the Q1 of 2009-10. Two of the projects in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu will work on imported coal while Orissa will be a pit head based power plant.

It is reported that the official language journal of Steel Authority of India Limited has been awarded first prize for the second consecutive year under the All India House Journal Award Scheme of Home ministry, government of India.

Ms Pratibha Devi Singh Patil hon'ble President of India presented the award to Mr SK Roongta chairman of SAIL in the Hindi Divas Samaroh held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

It is noteworthy that ISPAT BHASHA BHARATI has carved out a niche for itself in the Official language journals brought out by government organizations in India. Apart from internal circulation, this magazine is distributed on complimentary basis to Libraries/Universities, government. departments/undertakings, parliamentarians and scholars of Hindi. This magazine has also been receiving first prize since last five consecutive years from Town Official Language Implementation Committee in Delhi.

Project Today reported that Maharashtra government has acquired 2,000 hectare of land to develop a Renewable Energy SEZ in Nagpur.

The proposed SEZ is being developed by the Maharastra Industrial Development Corporation and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency.

A European firm is understood to have committed investment worth EUR 3.71 billion in the SEZ.

Press Trust of India reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals will enhance its manufacturing capacity to 20,000 MW in 3 years from the current 10,000 MW.

Bharat Heavy Electricals in a statement said that “BHEL will increase its manufacturing capacity from the present 10,000 MW to 20,000 MW by the year 2011.” It said that the company expects to reach the 15,000 MW manufacturing capacity mark by this year end.

It said that besides capacity augmentation of existing products, other major areas of investment include facilities for higher rating nuclear sets, 765 kV transformers and other associated transmission equipment.

Mr K Ravi Kumar CMD of BHEL said that “Attention is also being given to rebuild and retrofit existing facilities to enhance their life, accuracy and productivity through additional investment.” He said that the company entered into an MoU with Tamil Nadu Electricity Board for forming a JV to set up by 2x800 MW supercritical thermal power project.

Mr Kumar said that a MoU was signed with MMTC for enhancing export of power plant equipment and projects leveraging counter trade and bulk buying. A MoU was also signed with NTPC to form a JV for jointly executing EPC projects and power equipment manufacturing.

BL reported that Adani Power is trying to rope in a cement manufacturer to ensure an environment friendly as well as economically beneficial utilization of the bottom ash to be generated by 4,620 MW Mundra thermal power plant, whose first unit is due for commissioning in the Q1 of 2009.

Initial estimates suggest that the plant will generate approximately 1 million tonnes of ash ever year once all its nine units become operational in 2011.

While the group is currently working on a formal proposal in this regard, sources said that the Adanis recently sounded cement majors like Lafarge, Ambuja and UltraTech Cement in this regard.

TOI reported that the prospect of being held accountable for blowing up by INR 450 crore on an unfeasible project seems to be prompting a powerful section within railways to seek the revival of the 4 year old proposal of building the world’s highest bridge on Chenab. The project was recently scrapped as the gorge in Himalayas had been found to be too unstable to bear the load of the mega steel arch.

Mr SK Vij Railway Board's member ordered the scrapping on September 4th Mr Prakash GM of Northern Railways has still not conveyed this major decision in writing to its contractor Konkan Railway Corporation Limited.
Mr Vij ordered that all contracts for a 34 kilometer stretch of the first railway line to Kashmir which includes the Chenab mega arch bridge be short closed as the claims submitted by KRCL’s sub contractor, an international consortium called Ultra-Afcons-VSL for the bridge alone had mounted to INR 300 crore for the manpower and machinery idling at the site. These claims are in addition to about INR 450 crore already paid by railways for the work done on the 34 kilometer stretch since abandoned.

Mr Vij decision to scrap the 34 kilometer stretch of the railway line was expected to pave the way for a modified alignment which dispenses with the mega arch bridge on Chenab. Since it will be shifted from the gorge to a wide valley 2 kilometer to 3 kilometers upstream, the bridge in the proposed alignment is envisaged to have a much lesser height and stand on pillars built on the banks of the river.

It is reported that Shriram EPC Ltd has been awarded two orders amounting to INR 809.7 million from Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd for its Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

The work for the first order includes design, manufacture, supply of indigenous plant and machinery and equipment for the Special Bar Mill and the second order relates to storage, handling, erection, testing, commissioning and PG tests for the SBM. The combined worth of the orders is INR 809.7 million.

The global tender for the contract was floated in May 2007 and Shriram EPC bid for the same along with its consortium partners - Siemens VAI, Italy and Siemens VAI Metal Technologies Pvt Ltd, India. The completion period for the contracts awarded to SEPC is 27 months from the date of signing of the LOI. The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is expanding its liquid steel capacity to 6.3 million tonnes per annum and these orders are a part of the overall project.

Mr T Shivaraman MD & CEO of Shriram EPC Ltd said that "We are delighted to work with Rashtriya Ispat Nigam to help them to scale up their capacities at the prestigious Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. This order win, in conjunction with our consortium partners, is a testimony to the quality of our offerings. We continue, to do well when bidding for highly competitive business contract and the operating environment also remains conducive, which provides us with a buoyant outlook as we enter the second half of the financial year."

Shriram EPC Ltd is a leading service provider of integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services for renewable energy projects, process and metallurgical plants and municipal service sector projects throughout India and manufacturer of wind turbine generators.

BS reported that NTPC is likely to save up to INR 2,500 crore through bulk procurement of next generation power equipment, as part of its plan to double installed capacity over the next seven years.

NTPC is planning to bunch together its equipment order of 7-9 supercritical sets of 660 MW each, through which it is hoping to generate a discount of 5% to 10%. The bids for the supercritical equipment will be open for both the domestic and international manufacturers.

Mr RS Sharma CMD of NTPC said that “Bulk ordering of such high capacity equipment provides benefits like building of huge spare inventory.”

Mr Sharma said that “The bids will be opened from February to March and we hope that the orders are placed by June.”

Mr Sharma mentioned that the average cost of commissioning supercritical equipment comes around INR 5.5 crore per MW of power generated. This would mean that the company will have to spend a total of about INR 25,000 crore for procuring 7 supercritical equipments.

Mr Sharma said that “Another benefit of this will be that it attracts a large number of bigger players. While ordering for smaller projects requiring 2 and 3 equipment is able to attract only major players like BHEL and Russian companies, we are sure that such a bulk ordering will attract other global players like Japanese and German companies. If that happens our saving will go up to at least about 10% INR 2,500 crore.”

An analyst in an accounting and consulting firm said that in general, the price difference between a supercritical and a sub critical project is around 5% and it occurs mainly on account of higher civil engineering cost. Therefore, if NTPC is able to generate 5% savings from bulk procurement, it would be able to buy supercritical equipment at sub critical cost.

Project Monitor reported that six entities Mundra Port & SEZ, Maytas Group, Sical Logistics, Hindustan Infrastructure Projects, Noble Group, and Apollo Infrastructure have expressed interest in developing Karwar port in Karnataka on BOOT basis.

Mr R N Mohan director of Ports & Inland Water Transport government of Karnataka said that the private developer and the modalities of private participation would be finalized in the next three to four months. He added that the private player was expected to bring in INR 788 crore of investment for the port development project.

Currently, the minor port has a draft of 8 meter and berthing capacity of two ships at a time. The government has already allotted INR 10 crore for dredging, after which the port can berth five vessels simultaneously. The development work also includes construction of 450m wharf and 250m of breakwater facilities. Mohan said that after development, the port in North Kanara district would have a draft of 15m and would handle 15 million tonnes of cargo per year.

The port project is seen as a precursor to the state's plans to develop nine other non major ports on PPP basis in two phases, with an investment of INR 1,200 crore. The ports identified for development are Belekeri, Tadari, Honavar, Bhatkal, Gangoli, Hangarkatta, Malpe, Hemmady and Old Mangalore Port. Currently, New Mangalore Port is the only major port in Karnataka, accounting for 8% to 9% of the total traffic handled by all Indian major ports.

Project Today reported that DP Jindal Group’s Jindal Drilling & Industries is in discussions with Norwegian offshore services group Sevan Marine to form a USD 700 million JV to construct a deepwater rig capable of operating in depths of 1,000 feet and drilling down to 50,000 feet.

The JV will be funded through a mix of internal accruals, debt and private equity placement.

After finalization of JV, Sevan Marine will hold a 75% stake in the JV, while the remaining 25% stake will be held by Jindal Drilling.

The deepwater rig which is expected to be operational in the next 3 years will be given to either Oil & Natural Gas Corporation of India or Reliance Industries.

In a bid to ease out traffic congestion in the city, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is undertaking two bus rapid transport system projects of about 42 kilometer in Vizag city at a total cost of about INR 452 crore.

Out of these, one project of 20 kilometer is all set to be awarded shortly to Sadbhav Engineering-GKC Projects Ltd JV shortly as their quote of INR 162 crore has emerged as the 'L1' bid. For the second project, tender is being re invited.

Mr Jayaram Reddy chief engineer of GVMC who is involved in the project, told Projectmonitor that the BRTS would be implemented with a joint finance from the Andhra Pradesh government and Government of India under JNNURM and GVMC. He said that the entire project would be completed by October 2010.

He added that the EPC contractor will be required to carry out investigation, survey, design and execution of the BRTS corridor from RTC complex at Asilmetta to Vepagunta junction in Vizag.

Project Monitor reported that Mumbai based Emco Ltd through Emco Energy Ltd has recently initiated the process to set up its first power project, a 270 MW thermal power plant at Warora in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra to be commissioned in two years. The report added that the company has also chalked out plans to set up power plants totaling 4,000 MW at a later stage.

Mr Deepak Khandelwal CFO told Projectmonitor that the project would require an investment of INR 1,240 crore, which was originally INR 1,100 crore. He said that "While 80% of the funds will come from financial institutions, 20 per cent will come from internal accruals.”

Mr Khandelwal said that his company had already obtained the coal linkage from Government of India as well as water linkage and land. However, since this was a merchant power plant, the power purchase agreement would be signed at a later stage, he stated.

The company is in the process of selecting EPC contractors through international competitive bidding process. The selected bidders will be required to undertake designing, engineering, manufacture, supply, construction, erection, testing, commissioning of various packages such as steam generator, turbine generator, coal and ash handling plants, among many other tasks as a single EPC package on lump-sum price basis or as different packages.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the company is looking for suitable sites in Jharkhand for future power ventures.

Emco Ltd is involved in the manufacture of transformers, meters and Scada products is venturing into power generation business.

It is reported that in the latest development, the Karnataka government has offered 1,000 acres of land to TATA Motors for Nano project.

Mr Ravi Kant MD of TATA Motors after that meeting with Mr BS Yeddyurappa CM of Karnataka said that “The government has promised all incentives and support.”

Ever since the Nano car project is hanging fire at Singur in West Bengal due to political unrest, Karnataka evinced interest in inviting the TATAs to set up the car's manufacturing unit in the state.

The move was also passed in the cabinet recently, where the government announced that it would welcome the TATAs and offer them land, besides all possible help.

The TATAs have 900 acres of land at Belur industrial area in Dharwad (North Karnataka), 450 kilometer from Bangalore, where they have established two projects Telco Construction Equipment Company the joint venture between TATA Group and Hitachi of Japan and a proposed a car manufacturing unit by TATA Motors.

BL reported that Association of Shipping Interests in Calcutta has urged the Union Government to take some drastic measures to save the Haldia dock which is badly hit by the declining draught in the Hooghly.

Mr HP Nopany president of ASIC said that “The measures already adopted by the authorities of Kolkata Port Trust will not yield desired results on long term basis and we’re worried as the situation might worsen in the lean season, due from October.”

Mr Nopany meant immediate deployment of more dredgers by the Dredging Corporation of India which is supposed to deploy in the Hooghly 5 dredgers throughout the year and a 6th for 120 days a year.

He said that “Right now there are three dredgers, one of them being more than 30 years old operating at 50% capacity. He added that at present, a freshet that is increased flow of water due to monsoon should be able to wash off the silt and give good results provided more dredgers are deployed.”

Mr Nopany said that the River Regulatory Scheme being discussed for the past several years and awaiting the approval of the authorities concerned in New Delhi should be immediately cleared for early implementation. He added that the poor draught in the Hooghly was affecting shipping lines in several ways.

As per report the average parcel load of each ship was now much lower than before. Since the average draft had dropped from 9.5 meters to 7.5 meters at Haldia in the past couple of years, each ship moving to and from Haldia was carrying at least 10,000 tonnes less cargo. As a result, more ships were coming to the dock whose lock gate is unable to handle more than 7 to 8 vessels a day resulting in congestion.

BL reported that Union Ministry of Shipping has given its go ahead to INR 5,348 crore Vizhinjam Deepwater Container Transshipment Terminal, proposed to be set up at Vizhinjam.

A consortium of companies led by the Hyderabad based Lanco Kondappally is executing the project. Other members of the consortium include Lanco Infrastructure and Pembinan Redzai a Malaysian company. The consortium will have a 76% stake in the project with the State Government holding the remaining 24%. The project will be executed under the build operate transfer model to be returned to the State Government after a period of 30 years.

Mr M Vijayakumar minister of Ports Kerala said that the state government and the consortium would immediately sit together to thrash out the formalities connected with setting up a special purpose vehicle for project implementation.

He added that the project which is expected to employ at least 3,000 persons directly and another 1.5 million tonnes indirectly had earlier received mandatory clearances from the Ministries of External Affairs, Defence and Home.

Mr Vijayakumar said that the Vizhinjam project had exciting prospects. It would be the biggest container transshipment port in the country and its location was very close to the international shipping route. The seas around here have a natural depth sufficient for the largest container ships of the world to drop anchor.

Project today reported that Era Infra Engineering bagged 2 contracts worth INR 123 crore from Central Public Works Department.

As per report, the first contract worth INR 70.5 crore is for up gradation, renovation and new construction in Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range of Tuglakabad in Delhi for Commonwealth Games 2010. The scope of work includes construction of shooting ranges of 10 meters, 25 meters, 50 meters trap, skeet final range and armory building including development of complex. The proposed project is scheduled to be completed by July 2009.

The report added that the second contract worth INR 52.5 crore involves construction and up gradation of Institute of Medical Sciences at Banaras Hindu University under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. The scope of work includes construction of trauma block building including water supply, sanitary & internal electrical installations etc. This project is scheduled to be completed by May 2010.

ArcelorMittal Warszawa a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal Group inaugurates a new bar rolling mill one of the most advanced rolling lines in Europe, following an investment of EUR 80 million.

The Warsaw rolling mill is the latest ArcelorMittal investment in Poland. During the past three years, the Group invested over EUR 920 million in Polish steel plants. These included a hot rolling mill in Cracow, continuous casting in Dąbrowa Górnicza, a coating line in Świętochłowice, as well as the modernization of the wire rod mill in Sosnowiec.

The new bar rolling mill in Warsaw has a production capacity of 650,000 tonnes per year. The facility is very flexible and can manufacture rebars of 8mm to 40 mm, plain bars of 16mm to 50 mm, as well as squares, flats, equal angles and channels. It will allow ArcelorMittal Warszawa to reach one of its strategic objectives which is to provide the complete product range and secure market share by optimal service and quality. Products are mainly intended to serve the booming construction market in Poland.

Mr Gonzalo Urquijo member of the ArcelorMittal Group Management Board said that "This investment marks the start of a new era for ArcelorMittal Warszawa, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The new rolling mill completes the modern melt shop constructed at the end of the nineties and transforms the plant into a state of the art mini mill. Thanks to the most advanced technologies installed, ArcelorMittal Warszawa can now further develop its production and respond to the steady demand generated by the dynamic growth of infrastructure investments in Poland.”

He added that “The rolling mill is equipped with a 160 tonnes per hour walking hearth reheating furnace connected to the existing continuous caster for direct hot charging of billets. This will result in substantial energy savings. The 18 stand mill is entirely made up of heavy duty housingless stands with automatic fast changing system for maximized mill efficiency and operational flexibility. The rolling speed is up to 18 m/s.”

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ponce Resources of Salinas in Puerto Rico. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

Ponce is engaged in the business of collecting, processing, and selling ferrous and nonferrous scrap metal and operates at four locations in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The acquisition is expected to close during Schnitzer’s fiscal first quarter of 2009.

Mr John Carter president & CEO of Schnitzer said that “We are pleased to be able to acquire these facilities, which will allow us to enter the Puerto Rico recycling market with the premier operator in the Commonwealth. The government and people of Puerto Rico have demonstrated a commitment to metals recycling, and we look forward to working together to further expand these activities.”

Reuters reported that world's 4th largest steelmaker POSCO expects steel prices to stay firm, amid rising concerns that falling prices in China on weak domestic consumption may spread across the world.

Mr Hwang Eun-yeon senior VP of marketing strategy POSCO's told Reuters that "Export prices are strong and domestic steel prices are also holding up well.”

He said that "Prices may come under pressure for some time but we expect China would take some steps to shore up domestic demand, if it worsens further and help boost overall steel prices."

According to the Brazilian Steel Institute, Brazil crude steel output in August climbed by 6.9% YoY and rolled steel production rose by 3.6% YoY.

Crude steel production rose to 3.14 million tonnes in August and output of rolled products rose to 2.26 million tonnes.

Duluth News Tribune has reported that the groundbreaking ceremony for USD 1.6 billion Minnesota Steel Plant to be built near Nashwau is scheduled for today.

Mr Madhu Vuppuluri president and CEO of Essar Steel Minnesota LLC, Iron Range legislators, city and county representatives would be present at groundbreaking. Governor Tim Pawlenty would speak afterward at luncheon.

Facility would be the first in the state to produce slab steel. It would include a new taconite plant, a direct-reduced iron facility and slab mill. Its output would be 2.5 million tons per year at full capacity by 2012.

Reuters reported that Australian miner OZ Minerals Limited is planning to cut zinc production at its Golden Grove mine in Australia by up to 40% in 2009 as prices tumble, instead upping output of copper.

In a statement, OZ Minerals said that it plans to cut zinc output by 50,000 tonnes in 2009, a drop of about 35% to 40% on its 2008 output forecast. Instead, it would lift copper output at the mine by 14,000 tonnes to between 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes for 2009.

Mr Andrew Michelmore MD of OZ Minerals said that "Current prices provide no economic incentive for us to continue to mine zinc at historical production levels. At current prices for copper and zinc, our decision to preferentially mine copper over zinc will result in slightly higher revenue levels and more substantially higher profit margins, as copper is a higher margin product for us than zinc."

Bloomberg reported that Nippon Steel Corporation will raise domestic wholesale spot prices from November 2008, the third increase since April 2008, to pass on higher raw material costs.

It will increase prices by JPY 5,000 a tonne to JPY 110,000 to JPY 120,000 after increases in April and July 2008 that totaled JPY 30,000 per tonne.

Soaring costs for iron ore and coal prompted Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Industries Limited to forecast declines in profit this fiscal year. The industry needs to raise prices to make up for a near doubling in the cost of iron ore this fiscal year and a more than tripling in coking coal.

According to the latest Metals Activity Report from US based Metals Service Center Institute, shipments of steel and aluminum products from US and Canadian metals service centers declined at double digit rates in August 2008 as economic uncertainty reduced orders to the minimum amounts required.

Steel shipments from US metals service centers totaled 3.87 million tons in August 2008, down by 16.8% YoY from August 2007. Shipments for January to August 2008 period totaled 34.2 million tons, down by 5.3% YoY. At the end of August 2008, steel inventories totaled 13.1 million tons, up by 0.5% YoY and at current shipping rates, a 3.4 month supply.

In Canada, steel shipments from metals service centers totaled 258,200 tons, down by 18.2% YoY while shipments for January to August 2008 period totaled 2.4 million tons, down by 4.6% YoY. Canadian inventories at the end of August 2007 of 1.16 million tons were down by 2.5% YoY and, at current shipping rates, equal to a 4.5 month supply.

The Metals Activity Report, based on data from metals service centers in the United States and Canada, is produced by the Metals Service Center Institute and a third party econometrics and strategy firm, McCoy, Scott & Co.

Founded in 1909, the Metals Service Center Institute has more than 420 members operating from about 1,200 locations in the US, Canada, Mexico and elsewhere in the world. Together, MSCI members constitute the largest single group of metals purchasers in North America, amounting each year to more than 65 million tons of steel, aluminum, and other metals, with about 300,000 manufacturers and fabricators as customers.

In order to help domestic factories raise production and sales, thereby increasing the industrial output of Vietnam, Vietnam’s Department of Industry & Trade recently put forward a proposal to the department of finance, which suggested raising the import tax on cold rolled steel from 5% to 7%, while reducing the import tax on steel billet from 20% to 5%.

According to related statistics, the entire estimated demand for cold rolled steel in Vietnam for the year 2008 will be 1.20 million tonnes. The domestic production capacity of cold rolled steel of Vietnam will constitute about 67% of the total demand as compared to the current level of 30% to 35% of total market demand.

Besides, the current ex work price of steel billet has already fallen to VND 16 million per tonne, down by VND 3 million per tonne. Exports are not performing well either, due to the high export tax.

WorldAutoSteel, the automotive group of International Iron & Steel Institute said that sustainability and safety will drive the future of steel vehicles. It recently released early styling sketches based on phase I research of its Future Steel Vehicle Program and provided some detail of its early work.

Four technical options are being considered for a year 2015-2020 vehicle, electric and plug in hybrid electric vehicles for four plus passengers, and plug in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles for five passengers. The vehicle architecture will feature advanced high strength steel bodies.

WorldAutoSteel said that the Future Steel Vehicle Program is evaluating next generation vehicle technologies that meet the challenge of increasing fuel efficiency, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving safety.

Mr Edward Opbroek director of WorldAutoSteel said that "For the sake of the environment, it is critical to look at the future steel vehicle, as all vehicles, from a lifecycle assessment perspective."

Mr Jody Shaw chairman of FSV Program and also manager of technical marketing and product research at US Steel said that "If the whole lifecycle is not taken into account, there is the distinct possibility of having a net increase in greenhouse gases if the wrong material choice is made. This is not just speculation, we have got very clear models that demonstrate this."

Other members of WorldAutoSteel include Arcelor Mittal, Kobe Steel, Nucor and ThyssenKrupp Steel.

BNamericas reported that negotiations between Venezuelan government and executives from the Ternium steel group to reach an agreement regarding how much compensation the government will pay for a controlling stake in steelmaker Sidor will wrap up on September 30th 2008.

Mr Pedro Rondón, who represents Sidor employees, said that "The plan is for negotiations to finish by the September 30th 2008 but we want to do this by the book and respect the rights established there." He added that the process to transfer the company to state power can not last forever and in his capacity as employee representative he asked Venezuelan President Mr Hugo Chávez to speed up talks.

International press reported in August 2008 that the parties had reached a USD 1.65 billion indemnity agreement for Ternium's shares. The agreement supposedly involved Ternium keeping 10% of the company's shares and a representative on Sidor's board, leaving the Venezuelan state with 70.1% stake and the remaining 19.9% in the hands of employees.

According to Vietnam Steel Association, Vietnam's steel consumption will stagnate in 2008 after the central bank raised interest rates to fight inflation and the government curbed investment at state owned companies.

Mr Dinh Huy Tam general secretary of VSA said that "The steel industry has been hit hard by the government's policies to curb inflation.''

Mr Tam said that "The lending rate of 21% is too high and it is also not easy to seek loans. If the central bank doesn't reduce the interest rate, many steel producers will face bankruptcy.''

The State Bank of Vietnam has raised interest rates three times this year to 14%, allowing banks to charge a lending rate of 21%.

Vietnam consumed 10.2 million tonnes of steel in 2007, up by 3 million tonnes from a year earlier. About 60% of steel is imported. Steel sales in August 2008 tumbled to the lowest monthly level in five years after the government ordered state owned companies to halt nonessential construction projects.

Rusmet reported that sources at ArcelorMittal said that tinplate producers are likely to seek price increases of up to 50% on their 2009 annual supply contracts with packaging industry customers.

It added that the targeted increase in tinplate contract prices is said to reflect the increased costs of iron ore, alloys, energy, transport and labor, as well as price developments in steel which have seen spot prices rise by 60% to 100% in the first half of 2008.

The sources also said that it is anticipated that the targeted level of increase would remove the need to levy any surcharges next year, as occurred halfway through 2008. If this is the case it would suggest that strip mills anticipate significant increases in their input costs in 2009, and possibly higher steel prices as well.

Meanwhile, market participants suggest that tinplate is becoming unprofitable for a number of steelmakers, and they are attempting to reduce exposure to this product. It is rumored that ArcelorMittal aims to reallocate some tinplate production capacity in Europe and North America to more profitable product segments.

Corus announced in April 2008 its intention to cut 300,000 tonnes per year of tinplate capacity at its plants in Norway and the UK because of a difficult market for packaging steels.

US Steel has marked its fifth anniversary since entering the Serbian market and now with 6,000 employees, US Steel is the largest exporter in Serbia.

US Steel Serbia is part of the US Steel Corporation, one of the five largest steel manufacturers in the world. It has been doing business in Europe since 2000 and working in Smederevo in Serbia since 2003. It became the largest exporter in Serbia only 2 years after arriving in the country.

Mr George Babcoke senior VP for US Steel Europe said that "Serbia has great possibilities and the potential to become an economic leader in this part of Europe. In the last 5 years, we have helped support that idea and for Serbia to become interesting to other foreign investors."

US Steel’s first job upon its arrival in Serbia was to get all of the old and damaged equipment in the steel mill up and running again. In 2005, tall oven number 1, which had not worked for 18 years, was turned on, and two years later another oven was also completely reconstructed.

The company’s latest project is to build a steel galvanizing facility. The new facility will allow US Steel Serbia to produce new, cutting edge products, which will meet the demands for high quality steel on the market of the former Yugoslavia.

Mr Richard Veitch CEO of US Steel Serbia said that "The new facility will enable us to honor our obligations to our customers. As Serbia develops, we see the need to produce galvanized steel, so there is no better place to build it than here. It will increase the diversity of products that we have to offer."

US Steel Serbia has invested over USD 10 million in the local community, through a program for schools and local health care.

US Steel was the first privately owned company in Serbia to sign an agreement with the environment ministry and will invest USD 50 million in the next two years in environmental protection projects.

AP reported that a French court has opened a judicial inquiry into allegations that steel giant ArcelorMittal and three other companies trafficked in toxic waste.

Mr Jean Philippe Joubert, prosecutor in the northern city of Dunkerque, said that the inquiry began in July 2008. His statement came after a local paper La Voix du Nord published an investigative report on the alleged waste trafficking.

Mr Joubert said that no one has yet been charged in the case, which is focusing on actions from 2002 to 2005. In addition to Arcelor, Sonolub, a company specializing in treating toxic waste, a Dunkerque based hydrocarbon warehouse and a maritime transport company are all named in the inquiry.

The La Voix du Nord newspaper accused the four companies of colluding with a customs official to illegally dispose of naphthalene fuel, a dangerous substance that results when steel working facilities are cleaned.

According to the newspaper story, Arcelor said that it was delivering the fuel to Sonolub to be treated when it was actually storing and then reselling it in Belgium to be used as fuel in supertankers. It also alleged that Arcelor submitted false documents in order to be reimbursed for part of a French tax on petroleum derivatives.

Arcelor said in a statement that its factory in Dunkerque has always respected rules concerning the disposal of naphthalene fuel.

SBB reported that Luxembourg based ArcelorMittal remains coy on its plans for a third blast furnace at its strip mill in Gent.

Earlier, ArcelorMittal said that such plans were under consideration and in th