SACE Guarantees $500Mn Loan For Emirates Steel Project
Italian export credit agency (ECA) SACE has guaranteed a $500mn loan granted to General Holding Corporation, owned by the Abu Dhabi government. The loan will be used for the $3.5bn project to expand the existing steel-making plant owned by Emirates Steel Industries, in the Mussafah industrial area. As part of the project, Italy’s Danieli Group will supply a 1mn tons/year heavy section and beam rolling mill. The new rolling mill will complete phase two of the expansion project launched in 2008. Danieli also supplied the first mill, which produces 1.4mn t/y of bar and wire rod.
The project is part of the government’s plan to reduce reliance on the oil industry, and diversify into other sectors. Its aim is to make the UAE less dependent on foreign steel products, amid a forecast growth in local demand for long rolled products for the civil and industrial construction industries. By supporting this loan SACE confirms its commitment to sustaining the competitiveness of Italian firms at a time of market uncertainty, the company said. It noted it is “covering risks to strengthen the capabilities of the banking system to fund major projects involving Italian enterprises.”
Copyright MEES 2010.
