September 29 (SeeNews) - UK-based Liberty International, controlled by Indian businessmen, plans to invest 150 million euro ($219 million) to build a steel plant in Romania by 2011, Bucharest-based news agency Mediafax reported.
The investor will build a foundry first and then a rolling mill, Mediafax said quoting news portal SteelOrbis.
The plant's production capacity is planned at 500,000 metric tonnes of steel and turnover is expected at 300 million euro in the first year of operations, the agency said.
Half of the plant's output will be sold in Romania and the remaining will be exported to the European Union, northern Africa and the Middle East.
The steel mill will be located in Oltenita, southern Romania. Liberty International, via its Romanian subsidiary Transdanube Industries, acquired the Turol casting house in Oltenita in 2007 for 16 million euro.
In Romania, the new plant will be competing with the Russian steel producer Mechel, Romanian pipe producer Tenaris Silcotub, a member of Silcotub Group, and with ArcelorMittal Galati.
($=0.6838 euro)