Indonesian media have reported that Krakatau Steel began operation of its new blast furnace on 20 December. Designed and supplied by China's MCC CERI, the plant can produce 1.2 million tonnes/year of iron, Kallanish notes.

The project consists of a 1,832m³ blast furnace, a 64-hole 6-metre coke oven, and a 180m² sintering machine. The official commissioning of the iron plant will be in early January 2019,  and the blast furnace will reach full capacity within 6 months. The plant began construction in 2013 with a total investment of $1 billion.

According to Krakatau president Silmy Karim, the factory previously used an electric arc furnace (EAF) for steelmaking. When the blast furnace is put into production, it is expected to save $58/tonne in production costs, and combined steel capacity will also increase to 4.5m t/y. Krakatau had been importing some 600,000 t/y of slab in order to supply its rolling mills.

Silmy Karim also said that in addition to the blast furnace, PT Krakatau Steel will begin installation of its 1.5 m t/y Hot Strip Mill 2 (HSM #2) in April 2019. This will lift HRC capacity at the steelmaker to around 3.9m t/y.

Krakatau Steel meanwhile says it has not been impacted by the recent tsunami in the Sunda Strait. The tsunami, which killed over 400 people, did not reach Krakatau's port facilities in Cigading in Banten.