The Health Plan seems to be the last for saving several thousand workers' jobs in the Bulgarian capital. Photo by BGNES
Bulgaria's ailing steel giant has a new "Health Plan" after its assignee in bankruptcy, Tsvetan Bankov, submitted it to the Sofia City Court Monday.
Monday was the deadline for submitting a "Kremikovtzi Health Plan", which appears to be the absolutely final chance to save the insolvent factory.
The Plan will be included as part of the bankruptcy case materials, and might come into force after a ruling of a judge, and an agreement on part of the creditors, whose assembly is scheduled to take place in July.
If Bankov's plan is not approved, the most likely outcome would be to begin a procedure to finally shut down the steel mill.
During the meeting of the "Kremikovtzi" creditors on June 12, the assignee in bankruptcy of the mill, Tsvetan Bankov, was given the task to select an appraiser of the company's assets. The steel mill has over BGN 1 B of mounting debt.
The failure to pay the gas bills was the reason to halt gas supply to the mill from "Bulgargaz" triggering the closure of the coke processing plant and the blast furnaces.
In the beginning of June some gas supply was temporarily restored over a scrap contract. Those supplies have been prepaid.
The National Electric Company (NEC) also threatens to cut the electric power supply to the mill.
The termination of gas supply to "Kremikovtzi" was postponed several times over hopes that the Brazilian metallurgy giant CSN would save the mill's coke production. The supply was discontinued on May 15, after negotiations with CSN failed.