Mittal Steel Co. has been ordered by the U.S. Justice Department to sell a plant in Maryland to settle antitrust issues raised by its recent merger with Arcelor SA, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The Sparrows Point plant, near Baltimore, is more accessible than inland operations for imports of raw materials and exports of steel.

It can produce about 3.9 million tons of steel a year, including 500,000 tons of tin plate used to make cans for food, aerosols, paints and other products, and it could fetch upwards of 1 billion dollars, according to the report.

Lakshmi Mittal, chief executive of the Netherlands' Mittal Steel, acquired Sparrows Point when he bought International Steel Group in 2004.

Mittal's retreat is expected to draw bids from major companies in China, Russia and India as the number of plants for sale is dwindling, said the report.

Source: Xinhua