Saudi-based Al Rajhi Steel Industries said it has obtained a SR737 million ($196.5 million) bank loan to more than double its steel rebar production by the start of 2012.

The Sharia-compliant loan from Saudi Arabia's Alinma Bank will help finance the construction of a 1 million tonne per year steel rebar plant in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, according to a report in our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

This will raise Al Rajhi Steel's annual steel rebar production capacity to 1.8 million tonnes, company spokesman Ibrahim Al Malik said.

'The plant will cost SR1 billion  which will come from Alinma's loan and Al Rajhi Steel's own resources. The Jeddah plant will be the biggest rebar steel plant in the Middle East and North Africa,' he said.