KIEV, Aug. 9 - The government on Tuesday set a $2 billion starting price for a 93.2% stake in Ukraine's most profitable steel mill, more than doubling the price at which the mill was sold last year in a highly disputed privatization deal.

The State Property Fund also said the winning bidder for the Kryvorizhstal steel mill will be obliged to invest $2.3 billion between 2006 and 2013 for unspecified improvements, The Associated Press reported. The mill is due to be auctioned in October.