Rinat Akhmetov, the owner of Ukraine's largest private holding company, System Capital Management (SCM, Donetsk), has called on foreign investors to speed up investment in Ukraine and implement large-scale investment projects in the country.

"Ukraine has huge potential. I strongly believe that those who are the first to believe in Ukraine will fall in love with Ukraine and win," he said on Thursday at a ceremony to open the site and lay the first stone of a new air separation unit (ASU-1400) at Metinvest's Yenakiyeve Steel Mill (Donetsk region), with the participation of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Akhmetov said the arrival of investors in the country was a good sign for everybody.

He said that not only investors would benefit from the construction of the new ASU-1400, which will provide the enterprise with air gases, "but everybody will benefit from this, first and foremost, the workers, the city, and the country." Akhmetov also expressed his gratitude to French investors.

"I thank our French partners, who are investing in our country, in our economy, in our industry," he said.

Air Liquide Vice President for Northern and Central Europe Guy Salzgeber, in turn, said at the ceremony that he was satisfied with cooperation with Metinvest.

"This is the first, and not the last, joint step with Metinvest," he said.

He said that the project on the construction of the air separation unit would help provide not only Yenakiyeve Steel Mill with air gases, but also other companies in the region. Salzgeber also said that the company would receive high-quality products, increase its competitiveness and that the environmental situation in the region would improve.

As reported, French gas producing company Air Liquide will build a new air separation unit worth EUR 130 million for Yenakiyeve Steel Mill that will help produce oxygen, nitrogen and argon for the company on outsourcing terms. Metinvest will spend about EUR 26 million on the project.

The volume of Air Liquide's investment will be financed jointly with the EBRD, which provided a EUR 85 million loan.

It is planned that the air separation unit will supply industrial gases to Yenakiyeve Steel Mill and other businesses in Ukraine.