Astra’s Iraqi steel billets production line shuts down due to fire

Astra Industrial Group said production of steel billets in its Iraqi subsidiary, al-Tanmiya for Steel Industries, stopped after a fire had erupted in an electric melt shop.

Technicians from outside of Iraq will be sent to study the reason for the fire and the expected cost and timeframe for the repair work, the company said in a statement to the Saudi bourse, Tadawul.

Steel rebar production will not be affected as the plant has enough stockpile of billets to keep the factory running for 30 days, it added. 

Al-Tanmiya, which started commercial production last year, is a Jordanian offshore holding company 51 percent owned by Astra Industrial Group, according to Argaam.

Basra-based Al-Tanmiya steel mill has a capacity of 435,000 tons of steel billet and 350,000 tons of construction steel rebar.