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Energy Secretary Steven Chu defended the Obama administration's decision to reject a $730 million loan to the Dearborn unit of Russian steelmaker Severstal OAO.
In July, the Energy Department said it had conditionally approved the loan that was expected to create 260 permanent jobs and 2,500 construction jobs. On Friday, the Energy Department declined to complete the loan — and the steelmaker said it was "deeply disappointed."
Chu noted that about 60 percent of the Severstal project has been completed — or phase one of a two-phase project. "By the time we're getting near where we're making the decision, phase one was done," Chu said. "We shouldn't really be giving loans to projects that have been completed."
