China’s Delong Holdings plans to increase steel production from its Indonesian JV, Dexin Steel to 20mn mt per year within the next four years.
Dexin commenced operations at its first blast furnace in Sulawesi, Indonesia in February, reaching its slated annual output of 3.5mn mt in June. According to media reports, under a new letter of intent signed by Delong, it plans to upgrade the plant’s capacity to 6mn mt in 2021.
With a pledged investment of about $20.6bn by 2024 and government funding from Indonesia, the holding company plans to scale operations to 20mn mt in the medium term. Indonesia continues to gain traction as the epicenter for steel and nickel production, serving as a raw material backbone for the budding electric vehicle industry.