All national and local administrations have signed a decarbonization agreement for the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto at the Ministry of Enterprises. Sources from Mimit confirm the accord’s draft does not specify timelines for transitioning to electric furnaces nor determines the location for the DRI plant required to produce prereduced iron.
Parties committed to convene a new meeting after September 15th – the deadline for binding bids in the new tender – to review initial results and assess potential sites for prereduced iron facilities. The draft agreement mandates signing a Program Agreement to develop territorial support measures and establish monitoring structures for environmental permitting timelines of strategic plants.
Taranto Mayor Piero Bitetti clarified: “Today we signed a document, not a program agreement, incorporating our demands. Crucially, it establishes a ‘binding obligation for full decarbonization requiring shutdown of coal-powered hot areas’ with no mention of LNG carrier supply.” He added that the text references “employment protection as an imperative principle,” with decarbonization timelines to be defined during the tender award phase. The bidding deadline for the steel group assignment is September 12th.