(ANSA) – ROME, JUL 17 – Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso said Thursday that the threat of the troubled former ILVA steelworks at Taranto closing has been averted after the plant’s new Integrated Environmental Authorization (IEA) permit was approved.
The approval of the IEA was seen as a necessary step to satisfy the requirements of the courts to allow the plant to remain operational while a decarbonization plan is implemented and the government seeks to reach a deal for a new buyer for the group that owns the factory and is currently in administration.
“I have just received the message that the IEA was issued a few minutes ago,” Urso said at the congress of the CISL trade union in Rome “Taranto will continue, the plant is safe.
“The Italian steel industry is safe, Italian industry can still have steel.” Last month the government approved an injection of 200 million euros into the plant to keep it going during negotiations for its sale.
In March the government said it had authorized the commissioners who have taken over the running of the steelworks to start preferential negotiations with an Azerbaijani consortium led by Baku Steel Company (BSC) and by the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund (ABDF).
The plant in the Puglia city is one of the largest in Europe and a major employer in the region.
The steelworks, which has over 8,000 employees, was put into special administration by the government last year and declared insolvent after the multinational ArcelorMittal’s term as the majority stakeholder ended acrimoniously.
The plant has been the subject of legal battles over its impact on the environment and on local people’s health for many years.
In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights found that the steelworks had a significant negative impact on the environment and the health of local residents.
Previous owners the Riva family were convicted of causing higher than normal cancer rates in Taranto, especially among children.
(ANSA).
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The approval of the IEA was seen as a necessary step to satisfy the requirements of the courts to allow the plant to remain operational while a decarbonization plan is implemented and the government seeks to reach a deal for a new buyer for the group that owns the factory and is currently in administration.
“I have just received the message that the IEA was issued a few minutes ago,” Urso said at the congress of the CISL trade union in Rome “Taranto will continue, the plant is safe.
“The Italian steel industry is safe, Italian industry can still have steel.” Last month the government approved an injection of 200 million euros into the plant to keep it going during negotiations for its sale.
In March the government said it had authorized the commissioners who have taken over the running of the steelworks to start preferential negotiations with an Azerbaijani consortium led by Baku Steel Company (BSC) and by the Azerbaijan Business Development Fund (ABDF).
The plant in the Puglia city is one of the largest in Europe and a major employer in the region.
The steelworks, which has over 8,000 employees, was put into special administration by the government last year and declared insolvent after the multinational ArcelorMittal’s term as the majority stakeholder ended acrimoniously.
The plant has been the subject of legal battles over its impact on the environment and on local people’s health for many years.
In 2019, the European Court of Human Rights found that the steelworks had a significant negative impact on the environment and the health of local residents.
Previous owners the Riva family were convicted of causing higher than normal cancer rates in Taranto, especially among children.
(ANSA).
Read article…
