The project is part of ATG's estimated $800 million investment on various new steel units throughout the UAE. The plans include construction of a direct reduction iron (DRI) unit, a steel meltshop with capacity of 1 million tonnes a year (t/y) and a separate rolling mill. However, technical issues appear to have delayed the project, with work on the main complex unlikely to begin until the third quarter.

'Things are a little up in the air at the moment,' says a project source 'We shall see what happens in the next two-to-three weeks.' ATG has still to secure a gas supply agreement. (MEED 2:9:05).