The Düsseldorf district authority granted approval to ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG for the construction of Blast Furnace No. 8. The investment is the centerpiece of a modernization program for the company’s hot metal base in Duisburg-Hamborn, which also includes the relining of nearby Blast Furnace No. 9. The 41-year-old Blast Furnace No. 4 will then be shut down and kept only as a back-up unit. The concept is to be implemented by 2008 at a total cost of €340 million.

“The approval by the Düsseldorf district authority for the construction of blast furnace 8, on which we will be spending €200 million alone, is of major importance not just for our company but for the region as a whole. The investment will bring long-term improvements to the job situation and the environment in the industrial city of Duisburg”, said Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Chairman of the ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG Executive Board.

Once in place, the blast furnace concept will allow annual production of around 17 million tonnes of hot metal in Duisburg for many years to come – approximately 55% of Germany’s total output. This will stabilize ThyssenKrupp Stahl’s hot metal base for the production and processing of steel at its German plants. It will also ensure annual supplies by ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG of 1.3 million tonnes of hot metal to the Ruhrort site of Mittal Steel GmbH for the next 20 years, permitting the long-term production of long products there. In the medium term, the project will directly secure 1,200 jobs and indirectly 3,600.

The approval also paves the way for a significant improvement in emissions, as the new Blast Furnace No. 8 will feature the most advanced dedusting equipment available. Environmental protection measures will account for 30% of the investment costs. In addition to the new unit, the hopper car discharging station for Blast Furnace No. 9 will also be equipped with a new dedusting system as a voluntary measure at an additional cost of more than €20 million.