The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine is completing the preparation of the concept of reforming the coal industry. According to the press service of the ministry, his proposals will be presented next week at a meeting of the Coordination Center for the transformation of Ukraine's coal regions.
Reform of the coal industry is necessary for the most efficient use of state funds allocated from the state budget to support coal mining enterprises, and to attract resources from private investors. The ministry has prepared a number of reform proposals aimed at improving the current state of the industry and giving an impetus for its further development in accordance with the strategic goals of the state.
The conceptual foundations of the reform of the coal industry, developed by specialists from the Ministry of Energy, were approved by the expert community. Experts and scientists supported the idea of grouping state mines in the following directions:
- Coal mining enterprises that will become a resource base for PJSC "Centrenergo" and will provide the generating company with the required volumes of domestically produced coal. Coal mining enterprises, in turn, will be provided with stable product sales. The issue of creating a vertically integrated company based on the production capacities of mines and PJSC "Centrenergo" is being considered;
- "Dual-purpose" mines, producing power and coking coal, and will be offered for privatization as coal mining enterprises with prospects for further development;
- Mines requiring additional investments or re-profiling will be offered for privatization as integral property complexes that can be used both for coal mining and for other economic activities.
Reform of the coal industry is one of the aspects of a more global process of transformation of coal regions, during which, first of all, it is necessary to ensure social protection of the population of these regions. Therefore, the transformation process should include a comprehensive solution to social, economic and environmental issues, summarized in the Ministry of Energy.
