OREANDA-NEWS. The official launch ceremony was attended by the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, SCM's owner Rinat Akhmetov (SCM is the major shareholder of Zaporizhstal), the Chairman of Zaporizhzhya Oblast State Administration Aleksandr Peklushenko and other representatives of central and regional authorities.

The facility was installed and commissioned under a large-scale modernisation programme of the plant designed to make it one of the most advanced facilities in Eastern Europe and mitigate its environmental footprint. Cutting-edge sinter facility No.1 at Zaporizhstal is equipped with a highly efficient gas treatment unit and is unique because of its technical parameters: two electric filters ensure dry gas cleaning instead of the existing wet gas cleaning. Thus the plant will recycle about 6,000 tonnes of iron-containing waste per year and reduce dust and gas emissions by about 10% of its total emissions. The new facility will help Zaporizhstal to mitigate environmental footprint in the region.

During the visit SCM's president Rinat Akhmetov made a tour around the plant, in particular, to the construction site of a hydrochloric acid pickling line. The project will have a significant environmental effect by reducing discharges of technical water in the Dnipro river by 83%. In 2013, investments into the project will exceed UAH 230m, while total investments in the project will make UAH 730m. The line will be put into operation in 2014.

"We bought the controlling stake in Zaporizhstal a year ago. The company has long traditions and we have strong ambitions. We are committed to making this plant into one of the best facilities in Eastern Europe. We have two major objectives: economy and environment, which cannot be achieved without investment. Despite the current crisis in the global markets we will continue to support modernisation. I am confident that we will build a strong economy. And I am sure that Zaporizhzhya will have clean air as it will benefit everybody: businesses, employees, the city, the region, and the country," said Rinat Akhmetov at the launch ceremony.

Zaporizhstal CEO Rostislav Shurma told the shareholder about the major upgrade of the plant and showed production sites where the modernisation is underway or will start shortly:

"To date we've done a lot: we have completed the construction of a basis coal storage facility at PCI unit and launched new sinter facility No.1. We have new ambitious targets ahead such as to build gas treatment units at every sinter facility, to construct a hydrochloric acid pickling line, to reconstruct blast furnace No.4 and continuously improve our efficiency. Our team understands well the link "efficiency - future" and works to win the cup of the most efficient steel plant. Our objective today is to win this cup in Ukraine."