Mumbai: POSCO Engineering & Construction Co, a unit of Korean steel giant POSCO, has won a $350 million order from the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) to build the country''s largest blast furnace.

State-run SAIL had, last month, announced a partnership with POSCO, Asia''s third-largest steel maker and the world''s fourth-largest, which is building a $12 billion steel complex in Orissa.

The furnace will have a capacity of 4,060 cubic metres and would produce 2.7 million tonnes of steel a year, Pohang, South Korea-based POSCO Engineering & Construction Co said in a statement.

Construction would be complete by March 2010, it said.
SAIL produces 14 million tonnes of steel annually, 30 per cent of the country''s production.

Posco and ArcelorMittal are among international steelmakers increasing capacity at mills in India.

Posco last month received environmental approval from for setting up a plant in Orissa, more than two years after agreeing to invest $12 billion in the venture.

The Korean company later signed an initial agreement with SAIL to cooperate on developing and purchasing raw materials and sharing sales networks in India.

Construction of Posco''s 12 million tonne plant has been delayed as it is yet to receive a mining licence and the land has yet to be fully cleared of occupants.