Metinvest could deliver project with Danieli to re-launch steel works in Italy's Piombino
MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - The Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Tuscany Region and Piombino Municipality have signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine's Metinvest Group and Italy's Danieli to carry out a project to produce steel roll.
Ukrainian media reported, quoting information on the ministry's website, that the memorandum was signed with Metinvest Adria SpA, Metinvest B.V., Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche SpA "to put the conditions in place to re-start the steel plant in Piombino."
The Piombino steel complex is one of the main steel processing centers in Italy and Europe, and the ministry will "endeavor to support the resumption of rail production and launch the production of hot-rolled coils in order to restore operations, preserve employment and reduce imports of steel products to Italy from non-EU countries," the ministry said.
This has led to "interest in the feasibility of the integrated industrial development project" presented by Metinvest.
"The purpose of the industrial project is to develop, construct, own, operate, and maintain an environmentally sustainable plant for the production of finished steel products into hot-rolled coils for further processing, which will be built in Piombino on an area of approximately 260 hectares," the statement said.
The project will be funded with external financing and government grants. Potential investors include Italy's Environment Ministry, Tuscany Region, Piombino Municipality and State Property Agency.
The parties commit to conduct a feasibility study to determine the conditions for the hub's stable and long-term operation, as well as increasing the region's industrial and production potential, giving preference to solutions that are most compatible with the urban environment.
When fully operational, the project will employ about 1,500 workers and will have a significant economic impact on other related industries at the regional and national level, the information says.
"The Metinvest-Danieli project will have the support of the Tuscany region. We hope that another investment project, JSW Steel Italy [proposed by India's JSW Group, a concession holder in Piombino] can also be delivered, given the interdependencies and possible complementary nature of production of flat products by Metinvest and long products by JSW. We have guaranteed significant investment in the port and infrastructure, an opportunity that the Metinvest-Danieli duo has clearly recognized, and we will work over the next four months to reach a binding program agreement with a timeframe for all," said Eugenio Giani, head of the Tuscany region.
"This project, with a capacity of about 3 million tonnes of steel, will play a crucial role in Italy's transition to green technology by introducing sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial methods. In addition, it will help to increase the utilization of our iron ore mining and processing facilities in Ukraine, leading to their modernization to produce high-quality pellets," said Yury Ryzhenkov, head of Metinvest B.V.
Metinvest is a vertically integrated mining and steel group that is 71.24% owned by SCM and 23.76% by Smart Holding.