Former Ilva site: Jindal remains in the running: ‘We are committed to acquiring the hot and cold areas’

Jindal is not backing away from the former Ilva site. Following the decree of 27 July by the Milan Court of Appeal, which ordered the closure of the hot area within 90 days due to the presence of asbestos and fine particulate matter emissions, the Indian steel group (with legal adviser Chiomenti), now considered the frontrunner for the acquisition of Acciaierie d’Italia, issued a statement a few minutes before midnight yesterday declaring that ‘it reaffirms its commitment to proceeding with the acquisition of the former Ilva site in Taranto and Acciaierie d’Italia, including both the cold and hot areas, subject to the finalisation of the relevant agreements, including the construction of a new carbon-free furnace in Taranto. The Jindal Group – the statement concludes – hopes to finalise the transaction and is ready to agree on the terms to resolve this extremely complex situation, not least in the interests of the Italian and European steel industry’. The group is making this statement ‘in light of the statement issued by Palazzo Chigi following the ruling by the Milan Court of Appeal’.

Yesterday afternoon, in fact, the Government – following a summit at Palazzo Chigi chaired by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and attended by the ministers directly involved in the former Ilva case – announced the disbursement of a further 100 million to the company, to enable it to continue operations, from the 390 million ceiling of the bridge loan authorised by the EU. The disbursement took place via a decree issued yesterday by the Council of Ministers. The 100 million is in addition to the two tranches of 149 million and 100 million respectively, which have already been granted to the former Ilva. ‘Despite these new developments, the Council of Ministers will confirm the allocation of a further tranche of the loan necessary to ensure the company’s continued operations pending the finalisation of the sale of the cold-rolling division,’ Palazzo Chigi stated. It added that the decree in question “comes at a time when the agreement for the sale of the entire industrial complex to a leading steelmaker was on the verge of being formalised”.

Jindal, therefore, is still in the running, and today’s meeting at Chigi Palace between ministers, commissioners from the special administrations of Ilva and Acciaierie d’Italia, and trade union representatives (scheduled for 11 am), guidance is expected regarding the sale of the group to Jindal and the handling of the situation following the Milan Court of Appeal’s ruling. Yesterday, immediately following the judiciary’s decisions, the American fund Flacks Group also re-launched its bid for the former Ilva. However, Flacks’ bid appears to stand little chance, as it is criticised for failing to provide, over recent months, the financial guarantees that would have underpinned its plan. Flacks presented the broad outlines of this plan, stating that Danieli had proposed to Flacksider – which is reportedly to be the name of the new company – ‘a new steelworks for Taranto based on the most advanced technologies currently available worldwide: two 220-tonne electric furnaces, a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant, state-of-the-art continuous casting, high-efficiency rolling, and an integrated system for the extraction and treatment of fumes and industrial wastewater, as well as the digital automation of the entire production process. The project – Flacks announced – will enable production capacity to be gradually increased from 2.5 to 4.6 million tonnes whilst maintaining high standards of efficiency, quality and sustainability. Furthermore, the project envisages a reduction in CO₂ emissions of over 50 per cent even in the basic configuration, and up to 86 per cent with the use of hydrogen.”

“The ruling by the Milan Court of Appeal, which ordered the suspension of production in the hot zone of the former Ilva site in Taranto, calls on everyone to act responsibly and to engage in institutional cooperation,” the President of the Puglia Region, Antonio Decaro, the President of the Province of Taranto, Gianfranco Palmisano, and the Mayor of Taranto, Piero Bitetti, in a joint statement. “Everyone, in accordance with their respective roles and responsibilities,” say the three officials, “must do everything in their power to put forward a solution which, whilst respecting the judiciary’s decisions, offers prospects for the city of Taranto and the workers at the former Ilva site affected by this situation.” For this reason – Decaro, Palmisano and Bitetti state – “we are calling on the central government to convene an interministerial round table to discuss proposals and solutions in everyone’s interest. Immediate decisions are needed. Local authorities – they say – are ready to work alongside the Government to arrive at agreed proposals aimed at safeguarding people’s health and the future employment prospects of workers who have been without certainty for far too many years.”