BlueScope mulls upping capacity

BlueScope mulls upping capacity

MELBOURNE: BlueScope Steel Ltd., Australia's biggest steelmaker, is considering doubling the capacity of a metallic- coating and painting factory in Indonesia as demand for its products increases.

The company may spend between A$80 million (US$61 million) and A$150 million on the plant and is conducting a study which could be completed by the end of the year, Sandi Harwood, a spokeswoman for Melbourne-based BlueScope, said on Tuesday.

"We're very positive on Indonesia and it's a growth market for us," Harwood said. The capacity of the plant, located in Cilegon, Banten province, 100 kilometers west of Jakarta, may be increased to 200,000 tons of products a year, from 100,000 tons, she said.

BlueScope is spending more than A$1 billion through fiscal 2007 expanding and adding plants in Australia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and India to meet an increase in demand in Asia for construction materials and steel products. -- Bloomberg