A steel mill with the ability to produce 500,000 tonnes of steel plates per year is now operational in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

Built on an area of 66,000 square metres at a total cost of 1.3 trillion VND (over 61 million USD), the mill opened on August 29 after a successful 40-day trial period.

The mill is expected to satisfy the increasing demand for construction steel and realise the Government’s 2006-2015 steel development plan. It is one of the support facilities for a production expansion project of the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation.-VNA