Bulgaria's National Electricity Company (NEK) has transerred a small amount of money to Vidachim, an official of the Vidin-based tyre maker says.

Sevdalina Dimitrova, who is President of the Board of Directors at Vidachim, made the announcement on Thursday, but warned the company needed "much more" than what it had received.

She told the Bulgarian National Radio the sum had only been enough to purchase small amounts of coal for the thermal power plant the company also runs in the town of Vidin.

The last time workers had received salaries was in September, Dimitrova added.

The state-owned utility's debt to Vidachim surmounts BGN 19 M.

Vidachim CEO Tihomir Leshtarski maintains the company is already lacking money to buy coal and pay salaries and is facing closure.

He insists NEK should pay a "sufficient" portion of what it owes.

As many as 600 people will be left unemployed in the EU's poorest region if Vidachim's factory and the TPP are closed down.

Coal is a basic resource for Vidachim, where the TPP has lately become the key source of revenues, with the tyre factory producing mostly items for vehicles used in the industry.

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