ArcelorMittal, the world’s number-one steel company, and Borusan, one of Turkey’s leading steel producers, announced a 50/50 joint venture partnership that will see a $500 million investment in the construction of a hot strip mill in Gemlik, Turkey. The mill is schedule to come on-line in the first half of 2010 with a capacity of 4.8 million metric tons. Slabs for this mill will be mainly sourced from ArcelorMittal.

The mill will be located next to ArcelorMittal and Borusan’s jointly operated Borcelik plant in Gemlik. According to ArcelorMittal, the Turkish steel market is expected to grow at a yearly rate of at least 6% over the next 10 years.