MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Lenomex Group plans to invest $200 million in a new steelmaking plant in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo León.

"New winds are blowing in the country. Confidence in Mexico and in our authorities is what makes us bet on this steel project, (which is) a big investment for us," Lenomex general director Enrique Gutiérrez Garza said at the foundation stone-laying ceremony at Linares Industrial Park.

Construction of the Siderúrgica de Linares plant—which primarily will serve the automotive and pipeline sectors—has just begun, with commissioning expected by the end of 2015, according to local news reports.

Its initial steelmaking capacity will be 300,000 tonnes per year, but Garza said a second development phase that would double the plant’s capacity is planned for 2018.

Lenomex Group owns several companies in Mexico that manufacture a range of goods, including automotive parts, appliances, tableware, cutlery and air coolers.

A version of this article was first published by AMM sister publication Steel First.