The Mutún plant, valued at US$ 546 million, has been largely financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, and during its first year will be operated by the Chinese company Sinosteel Engineering and Technology.
A Bolivian steel plant financed by China and planned half a century ago will begin operating this month with enough output to cover half the country's needs, according to Bolivian authorities.
The Mutún plant, valued at 546 million dollars, has been financed in large part by the Export-Import Bank of China, and during its first year it will be operated by the Chinese company Sinosteel Engineering and Technology.
Following its official opening on February 24, the plant, located in eastern Bolivia near the border with Brazil, is expected to initially produce 200,000 metric tons of steel a year, mostly reinforcing bars and wire mesh, worth $260 million.
Bolivia usually imports steel from Peru and Brazil.
"We are entering a period of industrialization," Mining Minister Alejandro Santos Laura said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The project has been delayed numerous times since it was first proposed some 50 years ago, including by a series of disputes between the government and the company initially contracted to build the plant, India's Jindal Steel & Power Ltd.
The government of President Luis Arce is struggling to revive the Andean country's economy amid a drop in gas exports that has depleted the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves and put pressure on the local currency.
The Mutún plant will process 66,000 tons of raw material per month from iron ore from Cerro Mutún, a deposit that, according to Bolivian authorities, houses one of the largest iron ore reserves in the world, with 40 billion tons.
Bolivian authorities will study the possibility of building a second plant once national needs are met, said Santos Laura, without giving a time frame.
"When we reach 100% (...) we will build another plant. Much better than the current one," said Santos Laura.
The plant is expected to create 700 jobs initially and eventually reach 1,000, he said.
