One of the largest Ukrainian manufacturers and exporters of metallurgical products, Metinvest group, plans to start construction of a new plant in Italy, the cost of which is estimated at 2.5 billion euros. In addition, the company is considering the possibility of purchasing or leasing a metallurgical enterprise in Eastern Europe. The general director of “Metinvest Holding” Yuriy Ryzhenkov told about this interview Ukrainian publication Forbes.
According to Ryzhenkov, the capacity of the new plant in Italy will reach 2.7 million tons of steel per year. Construction is slated to begin by the end of this year or early next, with first steel production expected in late 2027.
The project is implemented in cooperation with the Italian company Danieli on the terms of an equal partnership — 50 to 50. More than 70% of the necessary funds for the project are planned to be raised through loans.
Ryzhenkov also noted that the new plant in Italy will become a kind of model for the further reconstruction of Ukrainian enterprises “Zaporizhstal” and “Kametstal”. The plant will also contribute to increasing demand for the products of Ukrainian mining and processing plants.
In addition, “Metinvest” is studying the possibility of purchasing or leasing a metallurgical plant in Eastern Europe, in particular, the company is carefully considering options in Romania and Poland.
“It is important for us that this acquisition or lease should be part of our strategy of transition to green metallurgy and increasing the demand for high-quality run-in and ore with a high iron content from our Ukrainian GZK”Ryzhenkov noted.
Help about “Metinvest”
“Metinvest” is an international group of mining and metallurgical companies with enterprises in Ukraine, Italy, Bulgaria, Great Britain and the USA. The group is engaged in ore and coal mining, coke production, steel smelting and production of rolled products, pipes and other products. The owner of the company is Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov.
The two largest metallurgical plants of the group — “Azovstal” and the Ilyich steel plant — were destroyed during the siege of Mariupol, and later the Avdiiv coke-chemical plant was destroyed. In 2014, after the occupation of part of Donbas, “Metinvest” lost control over the enterprises in Yenakievo and Khartsyzk.
Steel products of “Metinvest” were used for the construction of the shelter at the Chernobyl NPP, the “Olympic” sports complex in Kyiv, the Shard skyscraper in London, as well as bridges in Kyiv and Genoa.
