The government lent 680 million euros to Acciaierie d 'Italia, the Taranto steel plant better known as the former ILVA. The company has been in crisis for many years but is considered too large and strategic to be left to fail. However, there is now a serious liquidity crisis, mainly due to rising gas prices, and the loan will serve to repay the company's debts to the energy companies Eni and Snam. This is the tenth loan made with public money to the former ILVA and is part of a path that has led the state to become an important shareholder of the company, with the aim of taking its control in 2024. The Taranto plant is considered of strategic importance for the national economy. In 2012, the Taranto prosecutor seized the blast furnaces because they were considered highly polluting for the entire area. The steelworks had been placed under extraordinary commissioning and these plants had in fact continued to operate, albeit with reduced capacity. Among the network of suppliers and direct employees (and also considering the plants of Genoa and Novi Ligure, in addition to that of Taranto), the former ILVA employs at least 17 thousand people. In 2021 it produced 4.1 million tons of steel for 700 customers worldwide, generating an order value of 1.2 billion euros in Italy. This year, costs increased and revenues decreased, which led to a significant liquidity crisis. In 2022, production fell a lot to try to consume less energy: from 4 million tons of steel in 2021, this year production stopped at 3.
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