Bahrain’s Nass Contracting has won a $13 million contract to execute a civil integration package for United Steel Company (SULB) plant, which is set to become the region’s first producer of medium and heavy beams and structural steel sections.

The Nass contract involves the construction of roads and pavements, lighting, storm water drainage, sewage treatment, potable water systems, gates, weigh bridges and non-process buildings.

The SULB plant is being built by Bahrain-based Gulf United Steel Holding Company (Foulath), as part of an integrated complex in the Kingdom that also includes a pelletisation plant and a stainless steel production facility.

A joint venture between Foulath and Japan’s Yamato Kogyo Company, the plant has an investment of $1.2 billion and is set for completion in the second half of 2012.

It comprises a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant with a designed capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year (mtpy), a melt shop (1.2 mtpy) and a heavy section rolling mill (1 mtpy).

Japan-based Kobe Steel and Midrex of the US are building the DRI plant while Germany’s SMS Meer and SMS Concast along with Korea’s Samsung Engineering will construct the melt shop and the medium and heavy sections rolling mill.

“This is a ground-breaking project for the Middle East’s steel industry and for Foulath, which aims to create the world’s first fully integrated steel production facility,” said Khalid Al Qadeeri, SULB’s chairman and managing director at the signing ceremony.

Al Qadeeri said the Nass deal was another major development for SULB. “Having launched the product in July 2010, work is well underway and we are on schedule to begin commercial operations by the second half of 2012,” he added.

The signing cermony was attended by Hiroyuki Inoue, president of Yamato Steel Company, Abdulla Ahmed Nass, chairman of Nass; Sameer Abdulla Nass, managing director of Nass, and David Anthony, Nass general manager.-TradeArabia News Service