Ethiopian steel manufacturer EKOS Steel Mill Plc, owned by investors from South Korea, built at a cost of $30 million, was officially inaugurated. EKOS began the construction of the factory after securing land from Oromia region.
The factory has the capacity of producing 210,000 tons of re-bars and wire-rod products. EKOS has imported raw materials from Ukraine, Poland and South Korea which will contribute to the production of 15,000 tons of re-bars and wire-rods in the coming few months.
In the second phase of its project, the company has a plan to construct an electric furnace plant which will have a capacity to produce 500,000 metric tons billet raw materials. In order to produce the aforementioned billet, it has planned to locally source 200,000 metric tons of inputs from scrap metals whereas the rest will be imported.
Annually, Ethiopia will be able to save some $50 million on import cost. EKOS will priorities the local market with the aim of import substitution. In addition, it will export its product and generate revenues.