Ohio officials, Russian execs discuss plant

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (AP) — State officials on Monday continued their push to bring a $1 billion Russian steelmaking plant to southern Ohio, meeting with executives of the company and touring the site.

The mill would create 1,000 jobs in Scioto County if built at the Ohio River site in Haverhill, 13 miles southeast of Portsmouth and nearly 100 miles south of Columbus.

Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who also is director of the Ohio Department of Development, met with Russian billionaire Victor Rashnikov and other executives of Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works. Rashnikov controls the steel company that also is known as MMK.

The group also held meetings at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth and planned to continue their discussions today, ODOT spokeswoman Melissa Ament said.

“We have demonstrated to MMK Steel Ohio’s many outstanding assets, particularly the infrastructure network that would support the company’s operations, and the strong ethic of southern Ohio workers,” Fisher said.

Officials are hoping for a decision from MMK by the end of the year.