Sharjah: Work on the Al Ghurair Iron and Steel plant in Abu Dhabi's Musaffah industrial area is on schedule and production is expected to begin in September, the company's chief executive said.
The plant is being built by Tradeline LLC in which the UAE's Saif Al Ghurair group has a 51 per cent stake and the rest is held by an Indian company.
The company is spending Dh300 million in the first phase. About Dh220 million will be spent on expansion in phase two, which is scheduled for completion in 2009.
The entire complex covers 100,000 square metres. "In the first phase we will produce 350,000 tonnes of steel products, of which 200,000 tonnes will be galvanised material," Tradeline chief executive officer Raman Madhok told Gulf News.
In capacity terms, the plant would be able to satisfy 50 per cent of the UAE's current demand for galvanised steel, he said.
Madhok said the plant is the first of its kind in the country and will meet growing demand for steel in the construction sector.
"We plan to take the cap-acity to half million tonnes in the second phase. Then we will have 200,000 tonnes of galvanised steel and 200,000 tonnes of aluzinc as finished products," he added.
Sixty per cent of the plant's output will be consumed locally, while the remainder is targeted for exports.
"That is our target, but we will be able to sell more in the local market if we get a better price," Madhok said.
Potential customers are from the construction sector, fabrication units and the energy sector.
The company is in talks with a number of suppliers in Japan, India, China and Iran to supply raw material.
Apart from dealing in steel, Tradeline is involved in commodity trading, shipping and chartering operations in the region.
By Shakir Husain
© Gulf News 2007
