Leading Turkish bar and rod producer Icdas is planning to build a 2,800 cu m blast furnace at Canakkale in western part of the country, at an estimated cost of $600 to $700 million, said a report.

The company is currently receiving proposals from potential suppliers, Ulvi Gunduz, investment manager of the company, told Platts, a leading provider of information on energy, petrochemicals, metals sector.

“We already received proposals for the blast furnace from some Chinese and European steel mill suppliers. We cannot give an exact date for the start of the project, but negotiations are ongoing,” stated Gunduz.

He also confirmed that the new furnace which will be constructed in two years will boast a capacity of two million metric tons/year.

“We are also planning to build a three million my/y sinter plant, one million mt/y coke oven battery and a 500,000 mt/y pelletizing plant,” he added.