Votorantim Siderurgia (Steel) and Acerías de Colômbia (Acesco) announce a project which will ensure self-suficiency to Colômbia as for flat-steel production. Estimated investment will be US$ 1.5 billion.

A Votorantim Siderurgia and Acerías de Colombia (Acesco) announce the beginning of a basic engineering project, environmental and tax licensing for the construction of a flat-steel integrated Siderurgy in the city of Barranquilla, at the Caribbean Coast, in Colombia.

The plant’s production capacity will be 1.4 million tons a year of hot-flat-steel spools, with 50% of this volume to serve the internal market. With this, the new company will become Colombia’s largest steel producer, allowing the country to achieve self-sufficiency at flat steel production. Today, the country imports nearly 55% of all the steel internally used in the industry yearly. The estimated investment for the project is US$ 1.5 billion.

Completion of this project phase must take place within until nine months, when the final decision will be made about the investment and plant construction beginning. The work must last within 30 months, with estimated production plant construction. The work must last about thirty months, with estimated production beginning in 2012.

About Acesco

Acerías de Colômbia S.A. (Acesco), flat steel laminator, headquartered in Barranquilla, Caribbean coastal City is the 3rd Colombian Siderurgy. Founded in 1970 in the city of Bogota, the company is present in nine countries.

The group works in several sectors, with laminated products, service centers for steel finishing and bar distribution for the construction sector, besides operating a sailing company, Navesco, which brings logistic advantages in the regional commerce. The volume of processed steel at the Acesco-Metalco units is nearly 500 thousand tons a year (about 50% in Costa Rica).