The Düsseldorf district authority today granted approval to ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG for the construction of blast furnace 8. The investment is the centerpiece of a modernization program for the company's hot metal base in Duisburg-Hamborn which also includes the relining of the nearby blast furnace 9. The 41 years old blast furnace 4 will then be shut down and kept only as a back-up unit. The concept is to be implemented by 2008 at a total cost of Euro 340 million.

"The approval by the Düsseldorf district authority for the construction of blast furnace 8, on which we will be spending Euro 200 million alone, is of major importance not just for our company but for the region as a whole. The investment will bring long-term improvements to the job situation and the environment in the industrial city of Duisburg", said Dr. Karl-Ulrich Köhler, Chairman of the ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG Executive Board.

Once in place, the blast furnace concept will allow annual production of around 17 million metric tons of hot metal in Duisburg for many years to come some 55 percent of Germany's total output. This will stabilize ThyssenKrupp Stahl's hot metal base for the production and processing of steel at its German plants. It will also ensure annual supplies by ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG of 1.3 million tons of hot metal to the Ruhrort site of Mittal Steel GmbH for the next 20 years, permitting the long-term production of long products there. In the medium term, the project will directly secure 1,200 jobs and indirectly 3,600.

Today's approval also paves the way for a significant improvement in emissions, as the new blast furnace 8 will feature the most advanced dedusting equipment available. 30% of the investment costs alone will be spent on environmental protection measures. In addition to the new unit, the hopper car discharging station for blast furnace 9 will also be equipped with a new dedusting system as a voluntary measure at an additional cost of more than Euro 20 million.

This press release is also available on the internet at: www.thyssenkrupp-steel.de