Joint ventures between Ukraine and the EU will connect the countries' economies and increase production, - The Economist
Date: 2025-01-22 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: ECONOMY
Despite the incredible efforts of the Defense Forces, military risks for the economy and metallurgy of Ukraine are now increasing. Multi-billion long-term investments in Ukraine are not yet possible. Therefore, Rinat Akhmetov's Metinvest company has begun to build new bridges that will improve Ukraine's ties with the European Union. One of these bridges is a metallurgical plant that the company is building in Italy together with sponsors and with the support of the Italian government, write NV and The Economist.
"For over 10 years, Metinvest has owned rolling mills in Italy, Bulgaria and the UK. These enterprises received semi-finished products produced in Ukraine from Ukrainian raw materials, but full-scale Russian aggression interrupted this connection. Metinvest lost the Ilyich and Azovstal iron and steel plants, where they produced high-quality slabs and processed Krivoy Rog iron ore. Therefore, Metinvest created a new link that will connect the economies of Ukraine and Europe, and will increase the production and export of Ukrainian products," the publication writes. The company has already secured the support of powerful partners, with whom it will build a green metallurgy enterprise in Italy. The Italian state credit and export agency SACE and leading banks, in particular Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, have officially expressed interest in providing financial support. The project envisages the creation of a modern plant for the production of green steel with a capacity of 2.7 million tons per year. The enterprise will use electric arc furnaces, the raw material for which will be pellets supplied from the Group's mining and processing plants in Kryvyi Rih.
"This deal is an important step towards creating one of the most sustainable metallurgical plants in Europe. The project will help strengthen the Italian metallurgical industry and the mining industry of Ukraine, demonstrating the potential of international cooperation in promoting sustainable industrial development," said Metinvest Group CEO Yuriy Ryzhenkov.
The creation of a full-cycle metallurgical enterprise requires huge investments that are currently impossible to attract to Ukraine, so Metinvest is focused on finding partners in the EU who will help attract the necessary loans, technologies and other resources.
"Is it possible for such an enterprise to appear in Ukraine? Yes, because our country has all the necessary resources: from iron ore deposits to energy and transport infrastructure. The Metinvest Group has been developing a green metallurgy project for many years, which can be implemented at industrial sites in Zaporizhia, Krivoy Rog, Kamenskoye. But this is possible only after the onset of full-fledged peace, the cessation of shelling of Ukrainian cities by Russians and the restoration of energy," the publication points out.
A new metallurgical plant in the EU, owned by a Ukrainian company, will increase the production of high-quality iron ore products, save thousands of jobs and ensure the payment of taxes in Ukraine. The Ukrainian economy will receive an additional impetus for development even during a full-scale Russian aggression, and will strengthen partnership and ties with the European Union, which will benefit from cooperation with Ukraine, the publication summarizes.
Let us recall that since February 24, 2022, Metinvest, taking into account joint ventures, has spent more than UAH 30 billion on capital investments in Ukraine - this is the second figure in the country. In addition, the company has already sent more than UAH 8 billion to help Ukraine and its citizens. Of these, UAH 4.4 billion are funds for the needs of the army, as part of the military initiative "Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front".
