The Italian government promises to continue supporting ADI production
Negotiations on the sale of the troubled Acciaierie d'Italia (ADI) steel mill are ongoing, while the Italian government has confirmed its financial support for the producer with a new decree guaranteeing continued production.
The steel mill in Taranto was damaged in May as a result of a fire that stopped production at blast furnace No. 1.
Trade union sources who attended a meeting with government officials in Rome this week indicate that negotiations with Baku Steel will move forward only after the conclusion of a program agreement. This should determine the responsibilities and financial contribution of the Italian authorities. It is reported that the negotiations are focused on obtaining the necessary environmental permits for production and on the deployment of a floating storage facility for regasification off the coast of Taranto, which Baku plans to install.
"We had no confidence in the future and no guarantees of continuity of production. The tender has been suspended, there are no guarantees[integrated environmental authority – Autorizzazione Integrata Ambientale], there is not a single guarantee, but there is an idea of an indefinite agreement on the program," says Rocco Palombella, secretary of the Uilm trade union, in a note seen by[b]Callanish.[/b]
Insiders point to considerable skepticism about the likelihood of a successful sale of the company to Baku. This is due to numerous uncertainties related to the program agreement, environmental permits, and the government's financial involvement in the new organization.
The Azerbaijani consortium, which includes Baku Steel and the Azerbaijan Investment Company, has reportedly presented an industrial strategy along with terms that many stakeholders consider unacceptable. The estimated assets of ADI are approximately 1.1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), with additional investments of 4 billion euros required. It is reported that the consortium is asking the government to allocate more than 5 billion euros to ADI, including tax breaks, government loans and public investments.
The recent incident with the fire at blast furnace No. 1 in Taranto led to the arrest of the company by the prosecutor's office in Taranto. This avoided significant maintenance interference necessary to protect the equipment. The lack of timely intervention has jeopardized the operation of the blast furnace, which is unlikely to be operational before the end of the year.
After the fire in May, the only blast furnace No. 4 is operating at the Taranto plant. Management has increased the number of layoffs in Taranto for about 4,000 employees (see Callanish passim).
Natalia Capra France