Cherepovets Steel Is Supplied to Builders of Submarines for China - 29 March, 2003

Severstal, the metallurgical company located in the city of Cherepovets, the Vologda Region, will supply rolled steel for the construction, under Russian-Chinese intergovernmental agreement, of two submarines for Chinese navy. According to Severstal's press service, over the second quarter of 2003, the Admiralty Wharves in St. Petersburg where the subs are being built will receive 800 tonnes of highly durable steel for the two hulls. The press service further said that the supply of similar grades of steel to the Sevmashpedpriyatiye wharf in the town of Severodvinsk, where two more submarines for China are being built, will be completed in May this year.

The Severstal plant is a large Russian producer of steel and metal items, the leading company of the Severstal-Group. In 2002, its output increased by 5.6% year-on-year, reaching 8.535 million tonnes. In 2003, the company intends to output about 8.7 million tonnes of rolled steel. Its investments, over this year, are expected to reach USD 226 million.