Sinosteel Engineering & Technology Co., Ltd. (Sinosteel E&T), a subsidiary of China Baowu Steel Group specializing in industrial engineering and technology, has delivered a new 1.64 million tonnes/year cold pickling line and tandem cold rolling mill (PL/TCM) at the integrated steel complex in Béthioua in northwestern Algeria’s Oran Province being constructed by Türkiye’s Tosyali Group.

The new line, delivered by Sinosteel E&T under a turnkey contract, produced its first pickled coil on July 21, followed by its first premium cold-rolled hard coil on July 27, Beijing-headquartered Sinosteel E&T has announced.

The fully automated PL/TCM line integrates continuous pickling and five-stand tandem cold rolling, allowing the production of pickled coils and cold-rolled hard coils to a maximum 1,780 mm width, the builder says.

The PL/TCM is the core of the Tosyali Cold Rolling Complex Project at Béthioua that also comprises a 440,000 t/y hot-dip galvanizing line, an 800,000 t/y Continuous Annealing & Galvanizing Combined Line, a color coating line and related auxiliary facilities. The project is billed as Africa's first high-end cold-rolled sheet production facility.

The project represents the latest expansion phase of Tosyali Algérie's integrated steel complex. The company's 2.5 million t/y hot-rolled coil production line, also contracted by Sinosteel with the deal signed in December 2021, started operation in October 2024. This completed the upstream production chain from direct reduction and steelmaking to hot rolling, Sinosteel E&T says.

Founded in Türkiye, Tosyali Group is one of the country's largest privately owned steel producers, with operations across Türkiye, Algeria, Angola, Senegal and other markets. The group has pursued overseas expansion through integrated steel investments, with its Béthioua complex in Algeria among its largest international projects.

Following the project's startup, Tosyali's Béthioua steel complex is expected to increase total steel capacity from around 6 million t/y currently to 8 million t/y within this year, Sinosteel E&T says.