Austria’s Ambassador to Romania, Martin Eichtinger, said Voestalpine will make a decision by December on the location of the steel plant, the choice being between Romania, Bulgaria, the Ukraine and Turkey. The latter’s negotiations with Voestalpine lag behind the other countries, as the feasibility study is still incomplete. Ukraine and Bulgaria have already signed a similar memorandum.
The Minister for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Ovidiu Silagy signed the document on behalf of the Romanian government. The President of Voestalpine’s Board of Directors, Wolfgang Eder, represented the Austrian group for the signing of the memorandum.
Eder said that Romania should comply with two conditions to be chosen for the investment: acquire the 600 hectares needed for the construction of the plant and a resolution of CO2 emission rights problems.
Voestalpine recently acquired two more plots in the area and currently owns 300 hectares, which represents some 70 percent of what will be purchased from private owners. It will need a total 600 hectares for the investment, of which 170 hectares are owned by Agigea harbor, to be leased to the company by the state for 50 years. Sources have indicated that Voestalpine offered between €10 and €100 per square meter, and the memorandum is pending approval from all ministries and the government.
