Serbian Economy and Finance Minister Mlađan Dinkić today presented a plan B for Smederevo-based Železara steel mill.
“A procedure to fire up blast furnaces that have been turned down since last summer begins on Monday,” he said after a meeting with the steel mill’s leadership.
According to the minister’s plan for the revival of the mill, the blast furnaces should be operational in April when 5, 300 workers should return to work.
Dinkić and State Secretaries Aleksandar Ljubić and Ivica Kojić met with the steel mill’s leadership and union representatives in Smederevo on Friday and presented them the plan.
Železara Director Ivan Milošević and union representatives Mileta Gujaničić, Siniša Prelić and Saša Colić attended the meeting.
Russian company Uralvagonzavod has not submitted its bid at a tender for the Smederevo steel mill that expired on March 1.
Dinkić stressed on Thursday that the tender would not be extended.
He announced earlier that senior state officials would discuss the issue of Železara, adding that he had invited President Tomislav Nikolić, Prime Minister Ivica Dačić and certain ministers to the meeting.
Uralvagonzavod was the only company that was interested in buying the Smederevo-based mill.
The state purchased the steel mill in January 2012 from U.S. Steel for USD 1, after the company suffered losses due to the declining price of steel on the world market.
In March 2003, U.S. Steel bought the mill, then named Sartid, for USD 23mn.
The production in the steel mill was suspended on July 10, 2012.
Source B92
