Iraq’s Ministry of Industry & Minerals has signed a $700m agreement with Turkey’s UB Holding to revive shuttered steel plants in Basra, according to Iraqi news site Al-Shorfa.

Under the agreement, the Turkish group will supply the plants with equipment and create new production lines with a total capacity of 440,000 tonnes a year (t/y) over the next three years.

The project will help meet Iraqi demand for steel, which is currently 8 million t/y, with this figure is expected to rise as the country requires more raw materials for use in the oil sector.