Although next month the Swiss company "8B Capital", which has leased the Forge and Steel Plant at the Nikšić EPCG Steelworks for 50 years, is supposed to take on 150 workers, as stated in the contract (25 per month), it has not yet taken on the first group of 25 workers. They are not even paying the regular monthly rent of 31.000 euros, but according to the president of the Nikšić factory's Board of Directors Svetozar Golubović "The lessee will comply with all obligations stipulated in the contract."
"The lessee's obligations have been in effect since October 1st, and I think that both we and the parent company, Elektroprivreda (EPCG), are quite tolerant, all with the aim of getting it to start functioning. We certainly won't be damaged, but we gave him some time, which he insisted on. The lessee is taking the work seriously and is very often with a team of experts at the Steelworks to take a good look at the situation and the condition of the equipment, before production starts," Golubović said in an interview with "Vijesti".
The Swiss company registered its subsidiary "20B Capital Montenegro" on January 8 of this year, and appointed its CEO Igor ShamizHe was at the Steel Plant yesterday with a team of experts, and is obliged to start production within a year from the signing of the loan agreement.
"We expect him to start taking on workers in two or three months, and for production to start in July. They are reviewing the condition of the plant and experts are advising him that much more investment is needed than is stipulated in the contract. As far as I know, he plans to produce ingots in that first phase and place them on the market. Ingots are a semi-finished product and they can hardly contribute to any significant income. Although he also sees that something else, regarding production, should be in the foreground during that period," claims Golubović.
Šamiz had previously said that the available equipment at the Steelworks enables the production of more than 300 thousand tons of steel, and that it is necessary to produce about 100 thousand tons of raw steel in order to produce about five thousand different alloy steel profiles in the Forge, and that the difference of up to 300 thousand tons should be used for the production of quality concrete steel. At that time, he also said that the Forge should also produce hot-rolled strips, as well as other products that the market demands.
The contract signed by the company "8B Capital" with Elektroprivreda envisages an investment of 36,85 million euros over the next five years.
"We are paying our obligations to our workers, but the workers are earning those salaries. When the implementation of the contract with Šamiz regarding the takeover of workers begins, there may be a problem regarding whether we will be able to provide a sufficient number of workers as stipulated in that contract, considering their engagement, but we will wait until then," claims Golubović.
The systematization provides for 312 workers
About twenty days ago, a systematization was adopted that envisages 312 jobs. According to Golubović, EPCG Željezara currently employs 254 workers, and in the coming period, they may hire another dozen workers, only those who are necessary to complete the work, such as locksmiths and welders.
"The Steelworks workers are engaged in three locations, in connection with the construction of solar power plants. These are the 'Vrtac' dam, where the work is being completed, the factory itself and the fence around the Steelworks, and the newest location, Kapino polje, where a certain number of foundation concrete slabs have already been placed, the terrain has been prepared for the installation of substructures and structures, and where a large solar power plant financed by the parent company will be located. Almost 95 percent of the jobs for the Steelworks workers are provided by EPCG," says Golubović.
According to him, they are still waiting for connection to the grid, and the transformer station has been undergoing test runs these past few days.
"The revitalization of those substations took quite a long time, about half a year, so it has been completed. The trial work lasted several days, to review any possible shortcomings that might exist during the revitalization, so that they could be eliminated in a short period of time and have 2,2 MW solar power plants that could be connected to the grid immediately, but that is why the procedure is a bit complex. Two solar power plants have also been built on the roof of the former Vučionica and they will be the first to be connected, we expect very soon. As for other work, there has been a lot of activity on the arrangement of the old directorate's administrative building and most of the work has been completed. Workers from "Solar Construction" and Renewable Energy Sources of the Electric Power Company have moved there. Two floors have been filled, and on the third floor, rooms are being built for the Ironworks workers who will have to vacate the new administrative building when the investors arrive."
The factory is paying salaries to workers who are now working on the construction of solar power plants.
Hazardous waste will be removed soon.
Due to the disposal of hazardous waste in the Vučionica hall, created during the Tosčelik era, the Ironworks allocates 25.000 euros per month in eco-fees. Golubović also hopes that this waste could finally be moved from Vučionica, the hall leased by “8B Capital”.
"For quite a long time, this environmental fee has burdened the operations of the Steel Plant for something we did not contribute to. The information I have is that this waste could be removed quickly. It should have been completed by now. A public call was issued, someone complained, and then it was canceled, we started from scratch and according to the information I have, this call has been completed, there were no complaints, and we should have some precise information in the next 30 days. We expect that this waste will be removed quickly. An additional problem is that this waste cannot be removed in countries in our region, but only a small number of European countries can eliminate it in an appropriate manner."
Debt to the Tax Administration and the Electric Power Company of around 2,5 million will be paid in installments
Golubović pointed out that they had been doing well for the last three or four months, that they had paid their workers their gross salaries, that in December around 150 thousand euros were allocated for winter food for 280 workers, as many as there were at that time, and the same amount of money for severance pay for about thirty workers, as many as retired, who received between 5.000 and 6.000 per worker.
He hopes to be able to repay his tax debt, as well as his debt to EPCG, through rescheduling in the next two years.
"We currently have obligations to the Tax Administration in the amount of around 1.300.000 euros. These are taxes and contributions for last year, when gross earnings were not paid for ten months, but only net. These days we are starting to resolve this tax debt through reprogramming and we will conclude an agreement with the Tax Administration, with guarantees from the parent company, to settle these obligations in 24 months. This will be a burden of around 55.000 euros per month," said Golubović.
He said that they also reached an agreement with EPCG to reschedule the payment of a debt of 550 thousand euros in the next two years, incurred on two loans they received from the company that founded them.
"And that reprogram will run for the next two years and that will be our monthly obligation of around 23 thousand. We still have some obligations for consumed electricity, in the amount of around 300.000, and we will look to make some reprogram there as well, and to move that to a period of two years. The burden for that debt would be around 13.000 euros per month. However, we must also regularly settle all the obligations that follow. The most important thing is that we have enough work so that all obligations can be settled," said Golubović.
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