Voestalpine considers new steel plant in Bulgaria

SOFIA Jan 15 (Reuters) - Austrian steelmaker voestalpine (VOES.VI) is considering building a new steel plant in Bulgaria at an estimated cost of at least 5 billion euros ($7.45 billion), the government said on Tuesday.

Voestalpine has said it planned to build a steel plant with a capacity of 5 million metric tonnes per year on the Black Sea coast and would decide about the location in the second half of this year.

"The company is studying the possibilities to build a new production facility in Bulgaria and is expecting the state's support," the government said in a statement after Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev met visiting voestalpine executives.

Bulgarian media have reported voestalpine is to choose among Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine and Turkey for the location of the new plant, and the 25,000 jobs that come with it, by October this year. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Ilieva, editing by Will Waterman)