Vítkovice to build steelworks in Pakistan for CZK 6bn

Brno, Sept 11 (CTK) - Vitkovice Machinery Group will build a Kc6.1bn (EUR250m) steelworks in Pakistan under a cooperation agreement signed with the investor, Santex Pakistan Limited, at the International Engineering Fair in Brno, Vitkovice CEO Michal Pastusek told CTK Tuesday.

Financing of the project through the Czech Export Bank (CEB) is currently being discussed and the contract should be finalised by the end of the year, Pastusek said.

It is one of the biggest deals in ten years, he said.

Vitkovice will be a general contractor, with Czech firms supplying 70 percent of the project. "It is a condition of the Czech Export Bank," said Pastusek.

Pakistani firms will probably be responsible for the construction part of the deal, according to him.

Pakistan imports around 80 percent of steel. The new facility will produce around 1.2 million tonnes of steel a year, Pastusek said, adding that the project should be implemented in around four years.

The Czech Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation (EGAP) will provide insurance cover.

Vitkovice will deliver a bank of tubes to Russia's Balakovo nuclear power plant for Kc55m, a seventh contract since the signing of memorandum of cooperation with the Russian group Rosatom in Oct 2011, Vitkovice reps told journalists at the Brno fair, held on Sept 10-14.

Two weeks ago Vitkovice signed a contract for the supply of EUR7m (Kc172m) equipment for a new unit of the Rostov nuclear power plant.