ISFAHAN Isfahan Steel Mill has reported an output of over two million tons of iron products for the last Iranian year which ended on March 21. Some 150,000 tons of the reported production was exported to European and Asian markets.

In a report to the members of Majlis' Industries and Mines Commission, the mill's Managing Director Mohammadreza Farqdani said that experience gained over 30 years of uninterrupted operation now enables the mill to produce 50 different types of products which are sold domestically or to international markets, IRNA said.

He said that Isfahan Steel Mill has the capacity of producing between 100 to 200 thousand tons of high-quality steel annually, and that about 100,000 tons of its products were supplied to domestic outlets inside the country last year.

He also pointed to the low quality of steel rolls imported from some Central Asian republics, and said the importations have resulted in creating certain problems for the industry.

Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the National Iranian Steel Company (NISC), Mostafa Moazenzadeh, recently said that the commissioning of several important steel projects in the country is expected to boost annual unprocessed steel output by two million tons.

Moazenzadeh told reporters that the projects to come on stream include the Khorasan Steel Mill which will have an annual capacity of 600,000 tons, the Zamzam Steel Mill of Khuzestan Province which will have a capacity of 800,000 tons, a steel sheet producing unit in Isfahan Steel Mill that will have a capacity of 700,000 tons and the 765,000-ton Zagros Steel Mill.

He said that domestic production of steel rods is expected to increase by 1.2 million tons, thus ending further imports of such product.

He put the total cost of projects under implementation by the NISC at Rls.10,000 billion, and predicted that unprocessed steel output would exceed 6.5 million tons by the end of this year.

He said some 5,240,000 tons of steel products were produced in the first 11 months of last year (ended March 20), showing an 11 percent growth compared with the same period last year.

"Over the past 11 months, Iron bar production showed a 20 percent growth, standing at 1,470,000 tons, and steel sheets at 2,550,000 tons," he added.

He said that NISC exported 1,158,000 tons of products, worth $220 million, in the first 11 months of last year. The figure showed increases of 15 and 39 percent in terms of volume and value, respectively, compared to the corresponding period last year, he said.

In another development, the Mobarakeh Steel Company and a consortium of Italian and German companies have finalized a 300-million euro plus an additional Rls.1,130 billion buyback deal to upgrade the steel mill.

The deal will result in an increase in the annual output capacity of unprocessed steel by the company from the current 3.4 million tons to 4.3 million tons, its production of hot rolls from 3.1 million to four million tons and cold rolls from 750,000 tons to 1.5 million tons. The accord is to be implemented over three years.

The buyback deal signed several months ago was finalized and went into effect on March 12.

Minister of Industries and Mines Eshaq Jahangiri said at the project's signing ceremony that his ministry plans to use foreign funds and direct foreign investment to implement the buyback scheme.

Iran ranks 23rd in the world in terms of unprocessed steel production with an annual output capacity of 6.2 million tons.