Six companies bid to manage steel plant

Six companies bid to manage steel plant

SMEDEREVO -- A total of seven companies applied to manage public enterprise Zelezara Smederevo, but only six of them sent their official bids for a contract.

This was announced on Saturday by Bojan Bojkovic, executive director of the only Serbian steelmaker.

Bojkovic told state-run Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) that the seven companies had paid the participation fee of EUR 10,000, but only six of them had sent their official proposals for a contract to manage Zelezara, which meant that not all seven would be considered.

He refused to name the companies, but said it was "essential that there were several interested parties and that all of them were from the steel sector."

The goal is to have the steelworks running at its full capacity, to keep all 5,000 employees in their jobs, and to light the second blast furnace in order to maximize production and make the factory profitable, he said.

"This will be a transition period towards a long-term solution, and that is privatization," said Bojkovic.

The plan is to first sign a contract for a set period, and most likely, the companies that have applied to manage the plant will want to take part in the privatization process as well, he said.

"But every company has its own vision," said Bojkovic.

The deadline for submitting proposals for cooperation and concluding of a management services and business advisory contract with Zelezara expired at midnight Friday.

Serbian Prime Minister told reporters Friday that the final decision on the selection of the team to manage Zelezara would be made over the following five or six days.

"We will have a committee sit from Tuesday to Thursday and...