Qatar's state-owned Qatar Steel Company is expected to complete three major expansion projects by the end of 2007, thereby largely increasing the steel production capacity of the gas-rich emirate, according to news reports reaching Kuwait City on Sunday.

According to Doha-based daily Gulf Times, the three projects, including a direct reduction iron (DRI) plant, a rolling mill and a furnace, were worth over 500 million U.S. dollars.

The DRI plant would boost Qatar Steel's sponge iron production capacity to 1.5 million tons per year from the current 1 million tons per year, Qatar Steel's director and General Manager Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad al-Thani was quoted as saying.

He said that the new rolling mill would double its annual rebar production capacity to 1.4 million tons from the current 700,000 tons.

The completion of the new furnace would increased the molten steel's annual capacity to 1.6 million tons, according to Sheikh Nasser.

"We have launched these projects some two years ago. And we are well on track to commission them this year," said the manager.

He added that Qatar Steel was also expanding its rolling mill unit in Dubai of United Arab Emirates. Once completed, it will have an annual capacity of 500,000 tons steel bar from the existing 300,000 tons.

Formed in 1974, Qatar Steel Company was the first integrated steel plant in the Gulf and became a wholly state-owned company in 1997.