Uzbekistan's Uzmetkombinat plans to build a six hundred thousand metric ton blast furnace at a cost of one hundred and eighty million US dollars, replacing up to two hundred and ten million dollars in annual pig iron imports. The company is also commissioning a new one million metric ton hot-rolling complex in May 2026, achieving full domestic self-sufficiency in flat steel. A supply deal with Tajikistan's steel plant will deliver up to three hundred thousand metric tons of direct reduced iron per year from 2027, deepening regional industrial cooperation.