Egypt’s Industrial Development Authority has given ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, an August deadline to start building work on a steel plant or lose its license, an official said on Wednesday.
ArcelorMittal was granted a license in 2008 for a $340 million plant to produce 1.6 million tons of steel using DRI technology and another 1.6 million tons of billets.
"We are following regulations that any firm that violates the rules of a license would have it revoked within the agreed time frame," Amr Assal said, confirming a report carried by the daily Al-Mal reporting the August deadline.
The company would have to show its commitment by starting construction work to retain the license, Assal said.
The Luxembourg-based company, which has about 8 percent of the global market, has not started building the Egyptian project.
Steel rebar demand had remained relatively resilient in Egypt because of the need for housing and government infrastructure spending, analysts have said.
The site of the plant, which was supposed to start production in 2009, is near the Red Sea.
