After a year of intensive work, an environmental protection agreement has been signed by OJSC Dneprospetsstal, the Regional Council of Zaporozhye and the Ministry for Environmental Protection. The primary purpose of this document is to define deadlines by which the Company commits to implementing all planned measures directed at reducing ambient emissions.

The Agreement also includes a package of nature conservation and environmental protection measures previously not included in the "Program on Overcoming the Ecological Crisis in the City of Zaporozhye for the years 2001 through 2010". It should be remembered that originally this Program provided not simply for the installation of gas purification equipment but also envisaged the decommissioning of steel melting shop number one. Talk of shutting down the shop had been going on for several years.

But a compromise has been found. The signed agreement provides for, in the years 2008-2010, five gas purification units being built in steel melting shops number one and three. As a result emissions will be reduced by 794 tons per year. In order to trap the dust emitted from the arc furnaces Dneprospetsstal intends to install overhead canopies over the furnaces as well as baghouse filters. Plaza Investments, LLC will act as the General Contractor for this project which is estimated to cost seventy-five million hryvnias.