Engineer Reza Yazdkhashti, Vice President of Investment and Stock Affairs of Mobarakeh Steel Companies in Esfahan, discussed the plan to convert slabs to sheet steel in Mobarakeh Steel, as well as his proposals for proper investment in the steel sector.
Mr. Yazdakhti, what is your suggestion for new investments in the current situation?
It is wiser for companies to pool their financial and human resources rather than island development and do this development in the south of the country. Suppose we do this now in Hormozgan as a result of which we are operating a capacity of 2 million tons of steel. After 5 years, steelmaking alone has produced 2.5 million tonnes of steel, but it will not be possible to achieve a similar volume in a short period of time. The 5 million tonnes are too heavy and the steel is shaking the country, and if we could do the same in the south of the country, we could expect to create 5 million tonnes of steel production capacity, which we certainly could not achieve with this volume of scattered investment.
What do you think about investing in steelmakers in other countries?
Investing in other countries is as feasible as it is to meet the urgent need for industrial units, but if we are to look at it on a higher level, there are challenges and problems at the international level that are not easily available to us.
What is the status of steelmaking development plans?
We currently have a three million tonne development plan inside Steelmarket, the largest development plan that has been completed, with only the rolling end of the sheet remaining. The three-million-tonne design has moved on to slab production. You know that selling slabs alone is not affordable for us, and if we convert slabs into sheets, the profitability for the company is much higher, so we are looking to launch this rolling stock to turn slabs into slabs. Let’s go. We had a contract with the German SMS company for the project, but withdrew due to the sanctions, and our cooperation was suspended, and we are currently negotiating with Chinese companies and hope to reach an outcome as soon as possible.
