THE M R Dayal Group held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday in Ba for what will be the new site for their new company Dayals Steels Ltd.

Attorney-General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Saiyed-Khaiyum said the new development would be able to generate employment for those around the area.

“We are very glad that this business venture is going ahead,” he said.

“We are supportive of new business ventures and we look forward to the successful completion of the factory that will be built here.”

The factory will be situated in a 10 acre property next to the group’s already existing businesses Dayals Sawmillers Ltd and Dayals Quarries Ltd.

The project is worth $22 million and will be Fiji’s fully locally-owned steel mill.

Co-director Jay Dayal said they had a set target of producing 100,000 tonnes of steel per year with the hot steel rolling mill expected to begin by September 2017.

“We have already started production of roofing iron and have successfully entered into competition with existing suppliers,” he said.

“We will be installing a high speed fully automatic welded mesh wire plant capable of mass production to cater for the growing needs of Fiji and the Pacific Island countries.”