PUERTO SUAREZ, Bolivia, Feb 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Short on foreign currency, Bolivia inaugurated a steel plant Monday that it hopes will reduce its reliance on metal imports, thanks to a loan from China.

The Mutun megaproject in Puerto Suarez, near Bolivia's border with Brazil, was built at a cost of $546 million, financed in large part by the Export-Import Bank of China -- expanding its economic and political footprint in South America.

"The fundamental objective is that all of us Bolivians can benefit from a natural resource that has remained dormant for many years," President Luis Arce said at the event.

The plant is forecast to produce nearly 200,000 tons of steel per year, which will allow us "to replace about 50 percent of imports" and prevent "a currency outflow of over $250 million" per year," said Jorge Alvarado of the Bolivian public company that will operate the site.

The South American country has been in a deep economic rut since 2023, having used much of its international reserves on fuel, which it sells domestically at subsidizes prices.

China supported the project as part of its "Belt and Road Initiative" -- a cornerstone of President Xi Jinping's strategy to expand his country's global influence.

Latin America has emerged as a key battleground in US President Donald Trump's confrontation with China, and countries in the region are coming under increasing pressure from Washington to pick a side.

The site is believed to hold more than 40 billion tons of iron ore, making it one of the largest deposits in the world, according to Bolivian government estimates.