The refurbishment work of the No.4 blast furnace will last from September to December in 2021, with an aim to resume operation by the end of March 2022, it said in a statement.

The revamp is designed to boost the inner volume of the furnace to 5,100 cubic meters from 5,005 cubic meters now, it said.

($1 = 108.1300 yen)

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)