Contracts for the second-phase expansion of the UAE-based Al-Ghurair Iron & Steel (Agis) metals plant at Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, will not be awarded until the fourth quarter of 2011, marking a nine-month delay from the original tender schedule, according to a senior manager at the company.

The engineering, procurement and construction contract award has been delayed due to uncertainties in the steel market, the manager says. An award was originally scheduled for the first quarter of 2011.

“Phase two will just be the addition of one finishing galvanising line,” the manager says. “The work will last for about 12-14 months with production starting in early 2013.”   

He adds the budget for the expansion will be around 60 per cent lower than the $100m the company had originally planned.

“It will cost around $40m and will raise the plant’s capacity to almost 500,000 tonnes a year (t/y) from the current capacity of 350,000 t/y,” he says.

Products from the plant are sold to various industries in the Middle East including the construction and oil & gas sectors.