Moon Iron & Steel Co SAOC (MISCO) has signed a contract with German plant machinery manufacturer SMS Group to construct a mini-steel mill at Sohar Industrial Estate. The estimated USD300mn project, include a 1.2 mn tons per annum (tpa) capacity Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) based steel melt shop for billet production, as well as a 700,000 tpa rebar mill. Civil construction of the overall steel mix complex is being undertaken by the UAE’s Shriram EPC FZE under a contract valued at around USD230mn awarded by MISCO in August. When operational by early 2019, MISCO’s mini steel mill will further strengthen the Sultanate’s domestic rebar manufacturing capacity. Earlier this year, Jindal Shadeed brought its 1.4mn tpa capacity rebar plant into operation at Sohar Port. (Oman Observer)