Turkish steel conglomerate Tosyalı has signed an agreement with the Libya United Steel Company for the Iron and Steel Industry (SULB) to establish a Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) plant in the Libyan city of Benghazi, according to an Anadolu Agency (AA) report Thursday.
According to a statement made by the company, Tosyalı, a global green steel producer, has started a new steel investment in the North African country following its investments in the domestic market, Algeria, Senegal, Angola and Spain.
As part of the agreement between Tosyalı and SULB, a new company called Tosyalı-SULB has been established in Benghazi, the report said.
The DRI plants, which will have a total capacity of 8.1 million tons, will be equipped with MIDREX Flexi DRI technology and will operate using hydrogen as a clean energy source.
The integrated iron-steel plant consists of three phases, and preparations are being made for the investments in the first phase, which has a capacity of 2.7 million tons.
The plant is expected to meet the green steel needs of both the nearby region and Europe, and it aims to play an important role in the supply of HBI (Hot Bricket Iron), which is the basic intermediate product most needed in the green transformation process.
In the statement, Fuat Tosyalı, chairperson of the board of directors of Tosyalı Holding, drew attention to the fact that the company has expanded its investments on the African Mediterranean coast, which it has identified as its priority investment region.
Tosyalı, who stated that the company aims to create a positive economic, environmental and social impact in the countries where it invests, said, "We will be very pleased to bring our knowledge and expertise in quality steel production to Libyan Benghazi with this new complex, for which we have completed ground surveys and engineering studies and whose construction and assembly will begin in the coming days."
Tosyalı Holding plans to invest $1.5 billion-$2 billion a year in a global expansion drive involving Africa and Saudi Arabia, as well as potential acquisitions and partnerships in Europe and the Americas, its chairperson said in an interview with Reuters earlier this year.
"I strongly believe that by producing high-quality and standard green steel products with advanced technology, innovation and R&D, and with low carbon emissions at our integrated plant, we will lead the transformation into a high-quality production ecosystem in the global steel industry from Libya."
SULB Chairperson of the Board of Directors Ahmed Gadalla, on the other hand, evaluated the agreement as an important step for the industrialization of Benghazi and the development of the steel sector.
"The agreements we signed today are both a major move for the future of the two groups and will bring Libya (Benghazi) and Türkiye closer together economically," Gadalla said.
"This investment, which will enable Libya (and) Benghazi to take its place as an important player in the world steel production league, will also have a special place in terms of green steel and decarbonization."