MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Capital expenditures of Severstal may reach 119 bln rubles ($1.3 bln) in 2024, which is 64% higher than in 2023, the steel and mining company reported.

In particular, it is planned to allocate 54 bln rubles ($596 mln) for maintaining of existing capacities, and another 48 bln rubles ($529 mln) may be spent on development projects, Severstal said, adding that the remaining amount will be invested in IT and digital projects, as well as environmental protection, improvement of safety systems and labor protection.

The scale of investments may be adjusted in the future as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates, with the largest portion of the investment program denominated in rubles, the company noted.

Severstal is a vertically integrated steel and mining company and one of Russia’s largest steel producers. The Cherepovets Steel Mill is the company’s key asset. Its production capacity roughly totals 12 mln metric tons of steel per year.