Yet another problem for the former Ilva of Taranto. The mayor of Taranto, Rinaldo Melucci, has signed an ordinance that sounds like a real aut aut against ArcelorMittal and Ilva Spa in extraordinary administration. The provision requires the two realities that manage the Taranto plant identify the plants characterized by critical issues that cause "emission phenomena" and to resolve the situation, even if this means temporarily halting or suspending activities. All within 30 days. If "the plant sections subject to anomalies have been identified" and "the critical issues found have not been resolved", the mayor orders "to start and complete the procedures for suspending/stopping the activities".
If the problems are not resolved within the indicated times, Arcelor and Ilva will have to "start and complete, within the technical times strictly necessary to guarantee their safety, and in any case no later than 60 days from this provision, the shutdown procedures of the following plants: Blast Furnaces, Coke Plants, Agglomerations, Steel Plants".
Any requests "to extend the terms established above - warns the mayor - may be linked exclusively to reasons of a technical/plant engineering and safety nature in the execution of the shutdown procedures".
The ordinance, with tones and words that leave no room for doubt, was also sent to the Ministry of the Environment, the Prefect of Taranto, the Quaestor of Taranto, Ispra, the Region of Puglia, the Province of Taranto, the Municipality of Statte, to Arpa Puglia, to Asl Taranto, to Ares Puglia and "for appropriate information, to the Public Prosecutor of Taranto".
But the mayor's ultimatum isn't the only news that arrived from Taranto on Thursday. According to AdnKronos, which cites sources from the Ministry of Economic Development, the agreement between ArcelorMittal and the extraordinary commissioners of the former Ilva, expected for February 27, could be postponed to next week. At the basis of the postponement there would be only "technical" reasons: the signatures of the ministries concerned are needed.
We remind you that on February 7, Il The Court of Milan has postponed the hearing on the appeal of the Ilva commissioners until 6 March in order to allow the two parties to reach an agreement on the future of the steelworks. Among the issues to be negotiated are redundancies above all: in December Mittal had asked for 4.700 exits and then dropped to 3.500. Both proposals were rejected by the government. We also need to understand what the role of the newco will be and how the probable entry of the State into the company will take shape.
