Global steel and mining firm ArcelorMittal says it is supplying 50,000 tons of steel for the 11,200-MW Belo Monte hydroelectric project in Brazil.

The Luxembourg-based corporation said its ArcelorMittal Brazil unit is supplying the steel, with 30,000 tons being delivered since October 2012. The additional 20,000 tons are expected to be delivered by the end of 2017.

The company said units ArcelorMittal Piracicaba, ArcelorMittal Sao Paulo, ArcelorMittal Cariacica, ArcelorMittal Juiz de Fora, and joint venture Belgo Bekaert Arames are supplying rebar, welded mesh, strands for pre-stressed concrete, structural steel beams, nails, annealed wire and steel plate for construction of turbines, the dam and plumbing design.

ArcelorMittal said it stood out as supplier of choice because of the close relationship of its sales management team with Andrade Guitierrez, the construction company that leads the 10-member consortium in charge of the project.

Budgeted at US$26 billion, Belo Monte is being built on the Xingu River in Brazil's northern Para State and will be the world's third largest hydroelectric complex when completed. Belo Monte has a completion deadline of 2018, though developer Norte Energia filed a request for a construction extension in June. A federal court rejected a request in July from a public prosecutor to suspend work on the project because Norte Energia was accused of failing to consult properly with aboriginal groups potentially affected by Belo Monte.