Romania’s economy minister Bogdan Ivan announced that domestic steelmaker Liberty Galati will get a loan of RON 350 million ($76 million) to help the country's sole flat steel producer return to the market and restart its Blast Furnace No. 5 in the coming weeks. Furthermore, given growing geopolitical tensions, notably the uncertainties surrounding EU-US relations, Liberty Galati will start to assist with ensuring the supply of raw materials for the defense industry.
“Currently, Liberty has obtained a funding loan from the state. The government passed the memorandum two weeks ago, and they will receive RON 350 million exclusively for their operational expenses, and, in two or three weeks they will restart the Galati blast furnace, which will provide raw material for four of our armaments factories: Carfil Brasov, Cugir, Sadu, and Dragomiresti,” the economy minister stated.
With an annual steel production capacity of 3 million mt, Liberty Galati is the main steel producer in Romania. However, since the beginning of the summer, the company has idled the furnace and remained inactive owing to internal issues. As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the firm declared on March 4 that it had initiated a preventive procedure to protect its future.