KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's largest steelmaker Metinvest BV plans to invest $1 billion this year in modernisation and new production facilities, majority owner Rinat Akhmetov said on Wednesday.
"We will continue to build, continue to invest. This year the Metinvest company will invest $1 billion in new production," Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man and business magnate, said in the eastern city of Mariupol where most of its production facilities are located.
The firm produces about 40 million tonnes of iron ore and around 13-14 million tonnes of crude steel a year.
Akhmetov also said the company planned to build a new university and do "everything possible", including wages increases, to raise living standards in Mariupol, a major Azov Sea port which is near the frontline between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
Last month, company's CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov said Metinvest needed to invest $20 billion to $30 billion in the coming years to replace four coal-fired blast furnaces with new equipment to cut carbon emissions.
The company also aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 15% by 2030 and by 40% after another 10 years.