FNA reported that Isfahan's Mobarakeh Steel Company will boost its annual output capacity to 1.5 million tonnes in the near future.
Mr Majid Mahmoudi director for engineering and energy development affairs of Mobarakeh Steel said that a total of IRR 672 billion have been spent on the construction of three oxygen plant units adding that the once the new projects come into operation Mobarakeh's annual production will reach 1.5 million tonnes.
Mr Mohammad Massoud Sameenejad MD of Mobarakeh Steel Company said that his company produced 46% of Iran's steel output in the first 10 months of 2012.
The World Steel Association in a recent report for the first 10 months of 2012 said that Iran is the biggest steel producer in the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr Sameenejad said that "According to the WSA report, Iran has produced 12.052 million tonnes of steel in 2012 showing 10.2% increase as compared with the same period last year."
Iran was the 16th steel producer in the world in September with a production of 1.09 million tonnes. Iran was the 16th steel producer in the world in September with a production of 1.09 million tonnes. The country produced 13 million tonnes of steel in 2011.
Earlier this year, an Iranian official announced that the production of steel in Iran has grown 5 million tonnes in the past 2 years despite the harsh sanctions imposed by the West against the country.
Mr Hamidreza Taherizadeh VP of Iran's Steel Association said that "Despite intensified sanctions in the last two years, the capacity of Iran's steel production has increased 5mln tons and we will be completely self sufficient in the steel industry in the next three years."