Bolivia Seeks Foreign
Investment to Produce Steel
LA PAZ - The state-owned Iron and Steel
Company from Mutun (ESM) started contacts
with six international companies to in a bid
to come up with investments for 1.6 billion
dollars for the production of steel.
According to Cambio newspaper, the strategy
is directed to the exploitation of iron in
50 percent of the reservoir El Mutun (Santa
Cruz), whose other half is administered by
the Indian firm Jindal Steel, now in dispute
with the Bolivian State. Jindal's company in
July 2007 pledged an investment of 2.1
billion dollars during a period of 40 years.
However, to date, these investments have not
materialize, so the ESM used two warranty
ballots of the company for $18 million,
sparking a controversy with no solution yet.
Sergio Alandia, director of the ESM, said
that this weekend a government delegation
will travel to South Korea to hear proposals
by companies of the Asian nation.
Alandia said he will accompany the Bolivian
Deputy Minister of Productive Development,
Héctor Córdoba, to meet with executives of
Hyundai corporation.
The delegation, he said, will attend a round
of negotiations with Hyundai and other
companies, where we will get a proposal for
investment in El Mutun.
Also another reason is to negotiate shipping
consultancy, because the project envisions
the transportation of iron by water, and a
committee of the Shipping Company of the
Navy supports it.
He added that also companies from Venezuela,
China, Russia and Australia expressed their
interest in investing in the Bolivian steel
and iron project.
He recalled that the State has the other
part of the project, and estimated an
investment of 1.6 billion dollars to be able
to produce 1,800,000 tons of high quality
steel a year. |
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