NEW YORK (AP) — Latin American steel company Ternium SA said Monday it will invest $4.2 billion over the next five years to build a flat steel plant in Mexico to bolster production capacity.
The company, whose principal operations are in Argentina and Mexico, said the design and construction will take place in two phases over five years. Ternium said it believes demand for value-added flat steel products in Mexico will grow steadily, driven by new construction and industrial development.
The project’s initial phase involves building a flat-rolled mini mill in the Monterrey area, intended to produce two million tons per year of hot rolled coils. Ternium expects that this new facility will cost $2.7 billion and will be in full production within the next four years.
The second phase covers the construction of a cold rolled and galvanizing plant, including a pickling line and a cold rolled tandem mill with annual capacity of one million tons of cold rolled coils and a hot-dipped galvanizing line with annual capacity of 300,000 tons, to serve the industrial and commercial markets.
Ternium expects this second phase, to be completed by 2013, will cost $1.5 billion.
Ternium’s U.S. shares rose 23 cents to $27.90 in early trading.
