Cuba closer to reactivating steel mill with over US$100mn Russian loan

Cuba plans to start in the coming week hot testing the electric arc furnace at the Antillana de Acero steel mill, which the government is reactivating with Russian financing of US$111mn, reported official newspaper Granma.

The date to open the remodeled mill, which is officially called the José Martí steel company and is the main metallurgical plant in Cuba, will be specified once operations start up, while civil construction is still advancing on rolling mill 250, Granma added. Some 85% of the investment, or around US$94mn, has been spent, it added.

In 2014, work resumed to reactivate the steel mill that was built in 1957 but it was in 2017 that the project gained momentum thanks to the Russian financing, while the first phase was expected to be ready in 2021.

However, the works were halted in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. "The plant's steel production plummeted starting in 2004 due to the wear and tear of the machinery and the inability of the government to renew it due to the financial limitations at the time," according to online outlet 14ymedio.com.

Located in Havana’s Cotorro municipality, Antillana de Acero was at one point producing around 200,000t/y of steel and the projection is to reach 500,000t/y, according to the official website Ecured.cu and Cuba News.