Abengoa to Invest $120 Million in Two Steel Dust Recycling Plants in Turkey
07/19/2012 - Abengoa, an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, announced it will construct two plants for steel dustry recycling based in Izmir and Adana, Turkey.
Abengoa, an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, by its Industrial Residue Recycling Division, Befesa, jointly with the Prime Ministry Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT), today announced two significant investment projects in Turkey.
The projects consist of the construction of two plants for steel dust recycling based in Izmir and Adana, Turkey.
Befesa operates in Turkey trough a JV with the Canadian listed company Silvermet Inc. This JV plans to invest around $120 million in total in the construction of two plants with a capacity for the treatment of 110,000 tons of steel dust each, creating around 130 direct and over 200 indirect jobs. The facilities will produce over 80,000 tons of Washed Waelz Oxide, a zinc-rich final product that will be fully exported.
The investment of Spanish Befesa will also bring significant environmental benefits. The facilities will be designed and operated using the safest and most environmentally-friendly technologies in order to recycle steel dust, a hazardous waste generated in production of steel from EAFs, and therefore minimizing landfilling. Today the production of this waste in Turkey is approximately 500,000 tons per year.
This significant investment will be financed using a combination of equity from the JV and bank debt from local Turkish banks.
The facilities will be located in Tire OIZ with a surface of 68 m2 and in Adana OIZ with 50 m2, two areas that presently enjoy a high concentration of steel producers. These facilities will add to the existing Befesa’s one in Iskenderun with a treatment capacity of 60,000 tons per year.
Mr. M. Ilker Ayci, President of ISPAT, who pointed out that Befesa and the Agency have been working together for the last 20 months, said, “This investment is very important not only for bringing technology, creating employment and contribution to Turkey’s export, but also contribution to the environment. Befesa has added Turkey to its existing operations in Germany, France, UK, Spain and Sweden. We are proud to win this investment for our country.”
Befesa CEO Mr. Javier Molina commented that “We are very glad to contribute to Turkey’s sustainable development in the field of recycling and recovery of industrial waste with this investment. I would like to thank to Mr. Ilker Ayci and his team for their efforts and contributions to this project since the very beginning, in 2011. Regarding our plans, we are now at the stage of obtaining all the necessary environmental and construction permits which would hopefully be obtained by early 2013. We have also started to contact local Turkish banks to discuss financing options. At the same time we are developing the detailed engineering and procurement of works and equipment, so we should be able to start operations on site on schedule. The execution time of the works is planned to be around 18 months and we estimate the second half of 2014 for the plants to be in operation.”
Abengoa is an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, generating electricity from the sun, producing biofuels, desalinating sea water and recycling industrial waste.
