BackItalian PM Renzi says to decide Ilva steel plant’s future by Christmas
ArcelorMittal, JSW Steel have expressed interest in buying the scandal-hit Ilva steel plant
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Taranto, Italy: Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Saturday he would decide the future of the scandal-hit Ilva steel plant by Christmas, during a visit to the site at Taranto in southern Italy where he was challenged by protesters.
Ilva, Europe’s largest steel plant by output capacity, is at the centre of an environmental scandal which led the Italian government to place it under special administration last year.
Trade union sources have said the world’s largest steel maker ArcelorMittal and India’s JSW Steel have expressed interest in buying the plant, which industry body Federacciai says is currently losing between €60-80 million ($78-104 million) a month.
Renzi said on Saturday that privately-owned Ilva, one of the largest employers in southern Italy with around 20,000 workers, was important for the whole country.
“There are talks in progress with companies willing to take over the company. I will come back to Taranto to resolve the issue by Christmas," Renzi said after a meeting local authorities, business figures and trade unions.
About 100 angry protesters with opposing demands had gathered to confront Renzi, shouting “Clown" and “Get out of Taranto", and some tried to break a police barrier to get into the meeting.
Some of the crowd, environmental activists, called for the closure of the plant which prosecutors have alleged produced toxic emissions that caused abnormally high levels of cancer and respiratory illness in the region.
The demonstrators also included plant workers who demanded reassurance over the future of the plant and job security. Reuters
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