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Krakatau Steel to launch blast furnace facility by March
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Metal industry: An employee finishes production of steel pipes at the Krakatau Steel plant in Cilegon, Banten. (JP/-)
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fter being delayed for months due to financial difficulties resulting from falling steel prices, state-owned steel maker Krakatau Steel projects its first blast furnace to begin production by March this year.
The construction of the facility is reportedly close to completion. Krakatau Steel corporate secretary Iip Arief Budiman said the construction of the US$500 million facility was “98 percent complete.”
“Hopefully, it will kick off production in the first quarter,” Iip told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The new facility will have the capacity to produce 1.2 million tons of hot metal, which will serve as an intermediary material to make a variety of finished steel products.
(Read also: Krakatau Steel hopes to increase market share after capital injection)
The intermediary material will be channeled to Krakatau Steel for its own production as well as its subsidiaries and joint ventures.
Krakatau Steel, the country’s largest steelmaker, has engaged in three joint ventures: PT Krakatau Posco Steel, which started operations in 2013 and has produced 3 million tons of slab and plats, PT Krakatau Osaka Steel, which kicked off operations last week to produce steel angles and rebar for construction projects, and PT Krakatau Nippon Steel, which is projected to begin operations by September this year to produce steel for the automotive industry.
Krakatau Steel currently produces 3.15 million tons of mix steel annually, which includes hot rolled coil for the construction of toll roads, buildings and household equipment, wire rod for clothes hangers, cables and spring beds, and cold rolled coil as an intermediary material to produce steel for automotives.
