POSCO approved a USD 1.98 billion investment plan at its shareholders’ meeting. The investment is for the construction of its third FINEX blast furnace, a No. 4 wire rod plant and a new stainless steel plant. Building the third FINEX blast furnace will improve its competitiveness, while constructing the No. 4 wire rod plant will allow the company to meet the rising demand for wire rod. Upon completion, the annual output capacities of the third FINEX blast furnace and the No. 4 wire rod plant are 2 million mt and 0.7 million mt respectively. The new stainless steel plant will generate 400 series stainless steel. Construction of the third FINEX blast furnace will be complete by June 2013. Construction of the wire rod plant will commence in December 2011 and carry through until May 2013. South Korea imports 1.24 million mt of wire rod each year; the establishment of the No. 4 wire rod plant will decrease the volume of wire rod imports.
