Economy Minister Radimir Cacic said on Tuesday that renowned companies were interested in buying the Zeljezara Sisak steel mill and that one of the potential investors was very close to signing a deal.
Cacic made the statement in response to a question from reporters in parliament who wanted to know how serious bids by Italy's Danieli Group, Slovakia's Podbrezova and the Croatian CIOS company for the Sisak steel mill were.
Cacic recalled that more than 200 million US dollars had been invested in the project so far and that as much money was expected to be invested.
He added that the future investor was not only expected to restart production in the foundry but also invest in the rolling mill.
The US company CMC announced at the end of last year that it was withdrawing from the Sisak steel mill. The US company will choose the new owner of the steel mill based on the bids submitted.
During a visit to Sisak some ten days ago, representatives of the Italian company Acciaierie Bertoli Safau (ABS), which is part of Danieli Group, expressed interest in buying the Sisak steel mill from CMC.
Along with ABS, the Slovakian company Podbrezova, which had previously unsuccessfully bid for the Sisak steel mill, and the Zagreb company CIOS, which has bought the bankrupt Zeljezara Split steel mill, have been mentioned lately in the media as serious candidates for the purchase of the Sisak company.
