Ex Ilva, the hypothesis of an Italian consortium is open

A novelty and a confirmation for the former Ilva after today’s two summits at Mimit chaired by Minister Adolfo Urso. The news is that the Italian steel companies, through Confindustria, Federmeccanica and Federacciai, have struck a blow. They told the minister that they are willing to evaluate the possibility and practicability of their taking the field for the former Ilva, now that the Milan Court of Appeal, with a very recent decree, has established the closure of the hot area within 90 days, which have now dropped to 80 as time is passing, as it pollutes.

Once the hot area has been removed, while waiting for the new electric ovens to be built, only the cold area remains of the former Ilva. Which has no environmental impact, is less expensive and complicated than the hot area and above all has no judicial constraints. So this is the news, that is Italian steel companies evaluate how to intervene.

The confirmation, however, is new investment projects who must ensure employment in Taranto, given that with the former Ilva without a hot area and “slimmed”, many jobs will be lost (but it was already known that there would be redundancies because decarbonisation already profoundly restructures the production cycle).

The hypothesis of an Italian consortium

“Given the new conditions linked to the former Ilva plant, the conditions are open to evaluate an Italian consortium that has the country’s basic industry at heart”, he says Emanuele Orsini, president of Confindustria, after the summit at the Mimit. AND Antonio Gozzi, president of Federacciai, he adds: “We are committed to studying the dossier and analyzing whether the conditions and possibilities exist for hiring a consortium of Italian steelworkers”. The consortium, explains Gozzi, should serve the “recovery and relaunch of the Taranto plants not blocked by the Milan ruling”. While Simone Bettini, number 1 of Federmeccanica, underlines: “It is necessary to do everything necessary immediately to safeguard a strategic asset of the country and everyone must do their part responsibly”.

He immediately grasps the opening of Italian companies positively Minister Urso who, in the afternoon question time in the Chamber, declared: “We have obtained a particularly important and significant response. As President Orsini said and the president of Federacciai Gozzi confirmed, following today’s round table at Mimit which they judged to be serious and profitable, there are the conditions – notes Urso – to evaluate the possibility of creating an Italian consortium promoted by the Italian industrial system to make its proposal that allows the rescue and relaunch of steel production in Taranto and in the factories of Ilva. This, where possible – specifies Urso – will be added to the proposal that Jindal has decided to update taking into account the decision of the Court of Appeal”.

Con the Indian steel group Jindal, confirms Urso, “the solution had essentially been reached with Jindal’s investment”, but “obviously we had to suspend because the sentence actually changed the conditions”. Apparently, if Italian participation in the former Ilva was defined, it would not be necessary to redo the tender from scratch – two tenders have been launched so far – but only to update the current one following the new situation. Now we’ll see. It should be noted that at the top with Urso were all the big names in steel: Marcegaglia, Banzato, Pasini, Pittini, Danieli, Beltrame and Brunori. However, Arvedi, who was often spoken of as a potential investor for the former Ilva, was not present.

Over 2 billion for reindustrialization

Regarding the new investment initiatives, Urso, in the Chamber, quantified them as follows: “Over 17 projects for total investments of over 2 billion with sectoral diversification across at least eight sectors with a highly relevant employment perspective”. There are names that were already known, such as Renexia of the Toto group, Vestas, Webuild, but also new ones such as Pirelli, which communicated to Urso the orientation of making a new investment in Puglia after the one in Bari. In the meeting with the local authorities – Puglia Region, Province of Taranto, Municipalities of Taranto and Statte -, Urso said that the available areas are there and even those that will be freed from the hot area will be made available to the new activities. Furthermore, the Government will evaluate the possibility of a commissioner to guide this reindustrialization process. Present at the institutional meeting were the governor of the Puglia Region, Antonio Decaro, the president of the Province of Taranto, Gianfranco Palmisano, and the mayors of Taranto, Piero Bitetti, and of Statte, Fabio Spada. For their part, positive reception on the new production initiatives, even if, they underlined, they must be defined and made official.

What happens to the former Ilva?

However, for local administrators the central issue is and remains the former Ilva: what happens to it? For Decaro, “we need to start from the decarbonized steel hub which must remain in Taranto. Nobody can let their guard down. I belong to those who say that the presence of the State is necessary”. For the mayor of Taranto, Bitetti, “we express ourselves only in the face of a definitive proposal that perhaps also has the presence of the State as a guarantor”. And the mayor of Statte, Spada, adds: “We need to urgently clarify the future of the plant, defining the real prospects of the company to support the reindustrialization and diversification processes with a solid and definitive response”. Finally, the president of the Province of Taranto, Palmisano: “We ask to know what the national industrial plan for green steel is, which up to now has been indicated as strategic and essential”, but “we have not received any clear answer on the decarbonisation path”.