The office of the president of Serbia, Boris Tadic, has stated that Italian plantmaker Danieli Group is ready to invest in building its proposed special steel mill, which is still in its feasibility study phase, in Serbia. Meanwhile, President Tadic met Danieli's CEO and president Gianpietro Benedetti in the northeastern Italian city of Trieste on Monday, December 12. The Serbian president proposed an industrial development zone 60 km from Belgrade as a possible site for the planned steel mill, according to local media sources.
Mr. Benedetti confirmed that the Serbian option is currently under review. He stated, "The Serbian site is among the possibilities we are evaluating due to its strategic location and local low labour and energy costs. We will make a choice based on the presence of infrastructures close to the building site, namely motorways, railways and waterways."
He continued, "The choice is delayed until when we will be able to count upon a precise outlook for the global steel markets. We believe we can do this by the first half of 2012."
In October this year, Mr. Benedetti had confirmed the intention of Danieli to build a new special steel mill in Europe, with an investment of more than €400 million. Danieli Group is already operating in the European special steel sector through its subsidiary Acciaierie Bertoli Safau.