POSCO says starts $1.4 bln steel plant in S.Korea
SEOUL, July 17 (Reuters) - South Korea's POSCO (005490.KS), the world's No.4 steelmaker, said on Thursday it had started construction of a 1.4 trillion won ($1.4 billion) plant to boost annual steel production by 2 million tonnes by 2010.
The new steel plant at its Pohang hometown, in the southeast of the country, will be used to produce billet, hot-rolled steel products and ship plate, which has seen demand far outstrip supply thanks to the booming shipbuilding industry.
"The new plant will not only help ease steel shortages but also reduce costs and boost profits, as it will mainly produce high value-added products," POSCO said in a statement, adding the new project will contribute 410 billion of operating profit from 2010.
The new plant with 3 million tonnes of capacity, will boost POSCO's total crude steel capacity in its Pohang steel complex to 17.6 million tonnes per year. ($1=995.7 Won) (Reporting by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Keiron Henderson)
