Italian steelmaker Ilva is initiating work to cover over the raw materials stockyards at its Taranto plant, a union representative tells Kallanish. The go ahead came from the commissioners Piero Gnudi, Enrico Laghi and Corrado Carrubba who received instructions from the Economic Development Minister, Carlo Calenda.

“This will be done as defined in a project already approved and contracted out by the Extraordinary Administration and included by investor AM Investco Italy in the environmental plan approved by a decree of the President of the Council of Ministers dated 29 September 2017,” the company also confirms in a release.

Ilva will proceed with preliminary activities for the project in the coming months, starting with the removal of stockpiles and other preparatory measures. This work is expected to be completed by the end of January 2018. On completion of the clearance operations, the raw materials yards’ covering phase will commence. This is scheduled to last 36 months. Implementation of the project will be funded by AM Investco, the consortium which includes ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia.

The consortium’s industrial plan for Ilva targets completion of Ilva’s environmental plan by August 2023. Ilva will produce 6 million tonnes of crude steel at its Taranto plant until the investments in its environmental plan are completed and comply with Ilva’s environmental permit. 6mt of crude steel will be produced from next year, rising to 8mt in 2024 once the environmental plan is completed and blast furnace no. 5 relined (see Kallanish 13 November).