The Jordan-based Mass Global Investment Company (Mass Global) has said it is currently conducting a feasibility study for a new steel smelter in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The company said that the facility will be located in the city of Erbil in the semi-autonomous state and have a capacity of 1 million tonnes a year (t/y) of steel.

The budget for the project is expected to be between $250-300m. No funding will be sought and the whole facility will be paid for on the company’s balance sheet, says Mass Global chairman Ahmad Saleh.

Italy’s SWS Consulting Engineering is the consultant for the project, with legal advice being handled in-house.

The smelter will be Mass Global’s first foray into the steel industry. The project developer is currently concentrating on the construction of three gas-fired power stations in Iraqi Kurdistan.   

Steel demand in both Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq is expected to rise as development projects for the country’s oilfields and subsequent infrastructure projects are brought online over the next decade.

Other steel projects in the country include ArcelorMittal’s plans to upgrade and expand the Basra steel plant in southern Iraq as well as GK Steel’s plans for a plant that will also be located in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.