Ongoing expansions should put Qatar Steel Company (Qasco) in a stronger position to supply the regional construction industry, which is already in the midst of numerous projects in the commercial and industrial fields.

The company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Industries of Qatar (IQ), is introducing a new direct reduction iron (DRI) plant of capacity 1.5 million tonnes per year (tpy) to raise total DRI capacity to 2.3 million tpy.
Another project will raise molten steel production from 1 million tpy to more than 1.5 million tpy.
The company is also doubling the rolling capacity by installing a new rolling mill to increase production to more than 1.5 million tpy.
All the expansions will be completed by July 2008, according to Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad al Thani, Qasco director and general manager.
To fund the projects, the company signed last July an agreement for a $483.5 million term facility and $75 million standby facility. The 17-bank lending group consists of a mix of local, regional and international banks.
Qasco signed an agreement with Kobe Steel Japan in February this year to build the direct reduction plant designed to produce either 750,000 tonnes of DRI and 750,000 tonnes of hot bricketed iron (HBI) annually or 1.5 million tonnes of DRI per year.
“Over the years, Qasco’s steel has earned an impeccable reputation for its high quality,” said Qatari Minister of Finance Yousef Hussain Kamal after the signing of the agreement with Kobe Steel. “Our decision to expand our steel producing facilities reflects the increasing demand our products are experiencing in various markets. The new plant will be able to satisfy the annticipated demand for our products.”
Qasco says the new plant will be equipped with all the necessary facilities including a new 1,000 tpy loader for hot bricketed iron and direct reduction iron, a stacker re-claimer, material handling systems and dust collection facilities as well as electricity, utility and auxiliary services. It will also have new raw material handling facilities.
“The excellent infrastructure of Qasco along with our international expertise will definitely prove to be an excellent winning combination in the years to come,” said Kobe Steel president and CEO Inubishi.
About a month after the Kobe Steel signing ceremony, Qasco issued a statement saying it had signed an MoU with Essar Global Limited to build a new $1.25 billion plant to produce 4 million tonnes of iron annually.  “According to the agreement, Essar will provide high-grade iron ore pellets, the technology for manufacture and professional management to set up and manage the plant. Essar Constructions Ltd will be the EPC contractor for this project,” the statement said.
Essar Group has its headquarters in India and an asset base of more than $4.4 billion. Essar Steel produces some of the world’s finest quality steel at its 2.4 million tpy port-based, fully integrated plant at Hazira in Western India and other downstream facilities in India and Indonesia.