Russian Uralvagonzavod eyeing Serbian steel plant in Smederevo

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic spoke in Belgrade with a Russian delegation representing Uralvagonzavod. During the meeting, the Russian company showed interest in further business operations in Serbia, including on the basis of the steel plant in Smederevo.

Uralvagonzavod General Director Oleg Sienko recalled that the company is actively involved in the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, and is currently considering doing business based on the metallurgical plant in Smederevo.
Sienko said the company has determined that doing business at the Smederevo steel mill will be much more cost effective than investing in the metallurgical sector in Belgium and France. President Nikolic confirmed that Serbia offers good prospects for foreign partners.

The plant, known as Zhelezara Smederevo, which employs about five thousand people, is considered one of the most problematic in the country, so if Uralvagonzavod wants to come to Zhelezara, it will help production to reach a new level. Currently, the government plans to allocate $ 8 million over 4 months to pay salaries and support unprofitable production.

In this regard, the government wants to withdraw the enterprise in Smederevo from state funding as soon as possible and is going to help a potential investor in the development of production by all available means, including subsidies. Moreover, other foreign companies have no serious intentions towards Zhelezare Smederevo.