The last administrative bureaucratic obstacle has been overcome. And in Portovesme, Sider Alloys can start the revamping of the only primary aluminum factory in Italy. The Region has approved the resolution which concluded the complex authorization process that paves the way for the investment that travels around 180 million euros.
Positive judgment
The provision of the regional executive expressed a positive opinion on environmental compatibility “subject to compliance with the expected environmental conditions”. With the resolution, the process started by the company and necessary to start the plant restructuring plan is closed.
A 9 year long history
For the plant that in the industrial center and under the guidance of Alcoa produced, until October 2012 when the electrolytic cells were turned off, 155 thousand tons of primary aluminum for ingots and billets with a turnover of about half a billion euros, a new course. Under the aegis of SiderAlloys, the Italian-Swiss company founded by the entrepreneur Giuseppe Mannina and in which Invitalia also participates, with a share.
Plan
The industrial plan presented by the group that took over the Portovesme plant on 15 February 2018 provides for the reconstruction of the electrolysis plant, the production of primary aluminum both electrolytically and through the foundry and also wire rods. Within the industrial area, where some works have already begun, about 150 people are employed. Once the process has started, there are an estimated 350 direct employees and 150 in contracts. The Chinese group Chinalco will carry out the interventions.
Short times
«The resolution of the Region closes an important cycle for authorizations – say Giuseppe Mannina and Eros Brega, respectively managing director and general affairs director – now begins a path that will lead to the opening of the first aluminum factory in Italy. An important step forward not only for the Sulcis industrial center but for the entire metallurgical sector ». As for the times, the managers assure them, they will be quick. “The first aluminum casting in the foundry is hypothesized for 2022 – underlines Brega – while production in the electrolysis room is hypothesized for the first quarter of 2023”.