Emergency press conference of Minister Džindić due to shutdown of Aluminij

SARAJEVO, (Patria) – Federal Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry Nermin Džindić will hold a press conference today at the Government building in Sarajevo, where he will speak about the Mostar-based Aluminij, which was shut down at midnight after being disconnected from the power grid.

In the past few years, Aluminij has been operating at a loss, and the company's total debt amounts to nearly 400 million marks, of which more than half relates to debt for consumed electricity.

On Tuesday, Aluminij workers blocked the M-17 highway in Salakovac, north of Mostar, for almost five hours, and earlier also the southern approach to the city, in protest over the company's collapse.

Aluminij employs about 900 workers.

Earlier, the union accused the management of poor leadership of the company, as well as high salaries for members of the management board, even though Aluminij has been performing poorly for some time.

Džindić told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the government had done a lot for Aluminij in the previous period, but the company failed to emerge from the crisis.

Minister Džindić estimates that Aluminij can go in two directions: either finding a strategic partner or bankruptcy.

"Aluminij must be self-sustaining, without co-financing or assistance from one of the owners. And one of the owners is the FBiH Government," said Džindić.

The FBiH Government holds a 44 percent stake in the company, the Croatian Government holds 12 percent, while the rest is owned by small shareholders. The Croatian Government has not yet commented on the crisis in the Mostar-based company.

Over the past twenty days, the Federal Government has held negotiations with three investors who want to take ownership of Aluminij, but an agreement has not yet been reached. Swiss company Glencore officially withdrew its offer yesterday because the FBiH Government rejected the model proposed by that company.

"The FBiH Government, under the laws of the country we live in, cannot subsidize electricity for aluminum production. The request from yesterday's meeting was for the government to finance or co-finance the price of electricity above 40 and 78 euros," said Džindić about the reasons for Glencore's withdrawal.

He emphasizes that the FBiH Government cannot order anyone at Aluminij what to do, and that on behalf of its 44 percent ownership, it can suggest some solutions.

After yesterday's meeting with Glencore, the government suggested to the Management and Supervisory Board to create a bypass for electricity supply by the New Year, and to make a long-term recovery plan for Aluminij from the New Year.

Earlier, Our Party accused that Aluminij was a bank card for HDZ, which led to the collapse of this company.