As per calendar, the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Ursoillustrated yesterday in Rome the plan for the ecological transition of the former ILVA plants, during a meeting with trade union representatives, Puglia Region, local authorities and port authorities.
Urso then confirmed that The tender for the sale of the plants It will be reopened on August 1st, to include new potential buyers as well as Baku Steel, current interlocutor, with the aim of closing by October, then going on an antitrust and Golden Power scrutiny, and reaching the definitive sale at the beginning of 2026.
Urso, how the production changes to Taranto and Genoa with electric ovens
The plan designed by the government, prepared by the extraordinary commissioners, provides for a 8 million tons production plant Annue of steel, based on four electric ovens: three in Taranto and one in Genoa.
The Roadmap aims to do Start the three Altiforni di Taranto Already from March 2026, waiting for the prosecutor to release the altlap 1. Minister Urso explained that the progressive replacement of the altiforni with electric ovens will be divided into three phases, to be completed by 2033and this will allow the disposal of the most polluting plants.
Two options on the table:
- The first provides for the construction of three electric ovens and four dri in Taranto, to be completed in eight years;
- The second, without dri in Taranto, would reduce the times to seven years but with less employment capacity.
The needs of gasestimated at over 5 billion cubic meters per year, is a critical issue. The government proposes to moor one rejoicing ship in the port of Taranto, but the proposal is opposed by local authorities.
Among the alternatives, the Foranea dam, with an additional cost of about 400 million. The minister clarified that the presence or absence of the ship also affects the tender: the offer of Baku Steel, the current candidate, had been formulated, taking for granted the availability of the relevant, a condition that is now explicit.
The concerns of the unions on the employment front
On the table remains The issue of redundancies: The second option, without dri in Taranto, would entail greater cuts in the workforce. Urso assured the Espuberi management With extraordinary tools and incentives, ensuring that “nobody will be left behind”.
The unions, however, ask precise numbers and written guarantees before signing any agreement. “Before affixing any signature to an agreement, we ask that there are guarantees regarding the fate of the factories but above all of the workers”, warned Rocco Palombella of the Uilm. Fiom and Fim also insist on a public role in the management of the transition.
What happened to the agreement with Baku Steel
Urso announced the Reopening the tender for the plants from August 1stto allow the entry of other subjects and exceed the stall generated by Baku Steel’s request to renegotiate his own off -down offer after the May fire.
The minister explained that the new race It will serve to definitively close the chapter with Baku Steel, who had presented a conditioned proposal, and will have to take into account the environmental constraints and scenarios defined by the decarbonisation plan.
Pressing on the go -ahead for the integrated environmental authorization
The minister urgently asked to close a agreement on the plan already in the next few daysso as to obtain the approval of the integrated environmental authorization (AIA) by Thursday 17, before the judgment of the Court of Milan and the EU Court. For Urso, the Hague remains a fundamental step in order to go on with the sale of the plants.
