BLUESCOPE LYSAGHT CUSTOMERS VISIT THAILAND’S FIRST PRE-ENGINEERED BUILDING

BlueScope Lysaght (Thailand) Limited, a part of BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL), today welcomed over sixty customers to its soon to be commissioned 500-million baht (A$17.8 million) pre-engineered building (PEB) manufacturing facility in Rayong province, southeast of Bangkok. The project represents the first dedicated PEB facility of its kind in Thailand and is expected to be operational by the end of this year. BlueScope Lysaght already operates steel roll forming facilities in Pathum Thani, Rayong, and Khon Kaen. The state-of-the-art facility will fabricate components for high quality buildings solutions such as BUTLER™ pre-engineered buildings. PEB’s from BlueScope Lysaght are designed and engineered using sophisticated computer software to meet each customer’s individual requirements, with steel components pre-fabricated and partially assembled off-site, then transported to site for erection. Pre-fabrication and assembly means erection on site is significantly faster and simpler than for conventional buildings. PEB buildings are highly cost-effective and suitable for a wide range of non-residential building applications, including factories, warehouses, showrooms, sporting facilities aircraft hangars, schools and medical clinics. The new facility consists of a 7,100 square meter beam building plant and a purlin manufacturing plant that will provide BlueScope Lysaght customers with a “one stop shop” service for high quality industrial and commercial buildings. Conveniently located adjacent to BlueScope Steel Thailand’s existing metallic coating and painting operation at the Map Ta Phut industrial estate, the facility will provide an expanded product and solutions portfolio to BlueScope Lysaght’s domestic customers as well as neighbouring South East Asian markets. The new facility is expected to enhance BlueScope Steel Thailand’s competitive position in terms of lead-time and flexibility through enhanced technology. “BlueScope Lysaght aims to capitalise on its presence in Thailand to more effectively serve local customers in Thailand and in neighbouring countries, particularly in the building and construction sectors.” said President of BlueScope Lysaght Thailand, Mr Somkiat Pintatham. In the PEB sector, BlueScope Lysaght seeks to leverage capabilities attained when the company recently acquired Butler Manufacturing, the world’s leading manufacturer of pre-engineered buildings. The company hopes to bring to the Thai building and construction industry the latest technology and expertise for the development of pre-engineered building solutions. “Increasingly Thai customers demand high quality, low risk and quickly constructed industrial and commercial buildings. In the PEB sector, BlueScope Lysaght will bring to the Thai building and construction industry the latest technology and expertise for the development of pre-engineered building solutions,” added Mr Pintatham. Over 60 existing and potential PEB customers visited the plant to learn more about the innovative BlueScope Lysaght production process. Visitors seemed confident that the new plant represents a step forward for Thailand’s PEB industry and will benefit them in terms of expanded product selection, improved quality and faster delivery times. The facility will become fully operational at the end of 2006 and will employ 40 people in addition to the 600 existing BlueScope employees in Thailand, underscoring BlueScope Lysaght’s continued commitment to investing in its operations in Thailand. “We see great long term potential in the Thai market. Even as construction activity slows, we have not scaled back our construction work on this new facility or our ambitions to market new PEB products. There continues to an opportunity for complete building solutions of unmatched quality, warranty protection, secure and stable supply and ongoing technical assistance,” concluded Mr Pintatham. About BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) BlueScope Steel is an international flat steel solutions company, with a manufacturing and marketing footprint spanning Australia, New Zealand, Asia and North America. The Company is the global leader in the provision of high quality metallic coated and painted steel products for the building and construction sector, and also supplies customers in the general manufacturing and automotive sectors. BlueScope Steel’s strategy is to grow the proportion of its revenue and earnings generated from downstream value-added steel products, by capitalising on high growth markets in Asia, providing leading product and service offers, and through successful inter-material competition based on the superior properties of steel products. BlueScope Steel’s strengths include its unrivalled network of manufacturing facilities in Asia, proprietary coating and painting technologies and strong brands, including COLORBOND steel, ZINCALUME steel, the LYSAGHT range of steel building products and the BUTLER brand of pre-engineered steel buildings. BlueScope Steel operates a 5.1 million tonnes per annum integrated steelworks at Port Kembla, Australia, a 650,000 tonnes per annum integrated steelworks in New Zealand, and has a 50 per cent interest in a 1.8 mt steel mini-mill in Delta, Ohio. Steel rolling, coating and painting plants are located in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, and under construction in China and India. BlueScope Steel has a network of more than 50 rollforming facilities in 13 countries, under the BlueScope Lysaght banner, that is unmatched by any other steel company, and is the market leader in steel pre-engineered buildings in China and North America. For further information about BlueScope Steel Limited: www.bluescopesteel.com or www.bluescopesteelasia.com . For further information, please contact: James Best /Sribenja Semmeesook, Aziam Burson-Marsteller, 0-2252-9871 Click for photo release at www.thaipr.net

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