For Piombino steelworks hub a future different from that of Taranto is announced. A memorandum was signed at the Ministry of Business between the ministry itself, the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Piombino and the company JSW Steel Italy, the Italian branch of the Indian parent company. JSW Steel Italy has bought the former Lucchini steelworks and has now undertaken the commitment to relaunch the site. The entire area, which has marked the industrial history of Piombino, will be affected by the new agreement which provides for the production of rails and the restart of hot rolled coils. The. will be signed within three months true program agreement for the start of production.
The commitments for Piombino were made official on the same day in which two new commissioners were appointed for the former LLVA of Taranto who will support Giovanni Quaranta. Two events – Piombino and Taranto – of the same industrial sector but which walk separately. For the Tuscan city, a similar agreement was signed with the Ukrainian company in January Metinvest ready to invest 2 billion euros.
Production and environmental protection
“A technical work will have to follow a fast pace so as to be able to sign the program agreement in a short time" said the Minister Adolfo Urso. An update table on all the relaunch plans for the Tuscan steel industry has been set for March 7th. THE 143 million euro they will also be used for the revamping of the train with rails a project that must protect employment and the environment. The Region, Municipality and trade unions are involved on this front and, as in Taranto, have insisted on basing every relaunch plan on an environmental sustainability perspective.
The reduction of polluting factors and the relationship with the population and environmental organizations had moments of friction, but in the end a path was taken that suggests a resumption of activities. Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscany Region, in fact highlights the delicate work - all to be verified - to "balance investments, employment and environmental protection, infrastructural and energy development".
Piombino and Taranto strategic nodes
Everything is happening at a particular time for the steel industry and more generally for the Italian industry. Steel mills around the world work with million-dollar orders and not all of them respect environmental protection principles or even decarbonisation policies. What stands out in the eyes of observers of industrial strategies are the political distances in the starting points between the Tuscan and Apulian hubs. On the one hand, progress is being made and on the other, political failures still raise fears of the closure of the plant, once the largest in Europe.
Italy imports steel from abroad and produces 3 tons per year. If Taranto is also reborn it could reach 8/10 million. The issues are all open and in addition to Quaranta, the two new extraordinary commissioners are at work from today: Giovanni Fiori expert in corporate governance and David Tabarelli president of Nomisma Energia, expert in environmental issues.
