Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Alchevsk), the subsidiary of the Ukrainian steel producer Industrial Union of Donbass (ISD), has decided to continue the implementation of its modernization projects despite the financial crisis.
Accordingly, up to October 2010 Alchevsk plans to commission its new gas-turbine station, which is currently under construction. The new gas-turbine station will be equipped with three steam generating units of 150 MW each, and will use coke oven, blast furnace and basic oxygen converter gases as fuel. The commissioning of the gas-turbine station's unit No. 1 is scheduled for September 2009, while the startup of its units No. 2 and No. 3 is planned for September 2010. The project is being implemented jointly with Japanese company Mitsubishi.
In addition, Alchevsk plans to finish the construction of its pulverized coal injection (PCI) plant by July 2011. The implementation of the project is being carried out in stages jointly with German company Kittner. The first stage of the project was implemented in March 2009, while the implementation of the second stage is scheduled for June 2010.
Moreover, in June 2011 Alchevsk intends to commission its new blast furnace (BF) No. 2, the contract for the design and the construction of which was concluded with Netherlands-based plantmaker Danieli Corus. The new plant will allow Alchevsk to increase its daily output of pig iron by 65.5 percent to 24,000 mt.
In addition, by 2013 Alchevsk plans to commission its new sinter plant, consisting of two sintering machines, with a total capacity of 11 million mt of agglomerate per year. The project in question is being implemented by German plantmaker Siemens VAI.
The amount of investments in the above projects has not been disclosed. However, it is reported that ISD has recently invested about $3-5 billion in the modernization of its Alchevsk plant.