The Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO) and Italy's Danieli inked a memorandum of understanding. The deal aims to construct a direct reduction plant, which can produce two million tons of sponge iron and hot-moulded iron annually.

The factory will be situated within LISCO's existing premises, capitalizing on available infrastructure and raw material handling systems. Both sponge and hot-moulded iron are in high demand locally and internationally, including for Danieli's Italian factories.

This joint venture will see Danieli holding 51% and LISCO 49%. LISCO emphasized the project's economic viability, foreseeing capital recovery within 8 years after the 3.5 years of completing the implementation work.