KIEV, May 17 – The building of a new oxygen-converter plant will make Zaporizhstal one of the most modern steel mills in Eastern Europe, according to Rinat Akhmetov, the owner of SCM, which via Metinvest Holding indirectly owns the largest stake in Zaporizhstal.

"We have great ambitions. Today there is a crisis on the world markets for steel, and we have to make big investments to build a plant that we're proud of," he told reporters on Thursday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the launch of the first sinter machine with the high-performance gas purification system, which was also attended by President Viktor Yanukovych.