Balczun: Saving JSW is crucial due to the importance of coking coal in steel production

Saving JSW is crucial due to the importance of coking coal in the production of steel, which is necessary for the defense industry – said the head of the Ministry of State Assets, Wojciech Balczun, on RMF FM.

“The defense industry (…) is not saving the heavy industry. We are talking about saving JSW and looking for a solution because JSW is a group that primarily mines coking coal. Steel is produced from this coal, and steel is needed for the defense industry,” Balczun said.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that the government will do everything to save Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, or at least a significant part of it, and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa and the Polish defense industry may be included in this process.

Balczun also pointed out that state-owned companies can be divided into two groups. One is strategic companies that are on the list of companies of special importance approved by the Council of Ministers. The second group concerns smaller companies for which a market path needs to be found.

“I wouldn't look at it from the perspective of any significant revenues for the state budget, but of course we ask ourselves whether, for example, the state treasury should be involved in the production of plywood or candy production (…). I believe that the state treasury should not have the role here as it has today. We have an idea to continue the process only a little in the broader context of transferring some of the entities that are under the responsibility of the Ministry of State Assets to the Development Agency An industry that is much more flexible when it comes to searching for solutions, looking for investors, possibly looking for capital on the market, divestment concepts and so on,” he pointed out.

On Wednesday, Orlen announced that it had submitted a non-binding offer to Grupa Azoty to purchase all shares of Grupa Azoty Polyolefins, and the total value of the offer was PLN 1.022 billion.

“All this must take place in market, commercial, code conditions, etc. However, Orlen has its own New Olefin Chemistry project. This element can be a complement to this project. And I assume that such an analysis has been made and this proposal results from this, from the business arguments that Orlen has gathered on its side,” commented the head of MAP on Orlen's proposal.

What about the Polish electric car?

The Minister of Assets also indicated that he is also monitoring the work of ElektroMobility Poland, which is still working on the concept of an electric car factory in Poland.

“I don't want to call it the Izera project. We are talking about the production of an electric car in Poland. There is a huge area dedicated to this project near Jaworzno. We know that if we manage to complete this project and obtain funds from the KPO, and we are talking about a very large amount of PLN 4.5 billion, such production (…) in a sense saves Polish companies that may be suffering in the context of market crises. German,” Balczun said.

“We also estimate from a social perspective that this will generate over 20,000 jobs from the factory itself, plus everything around it,” he added.

The latest EY Mobility Lens Forecaster analysis shows that in 2032, sales of electric cars in Europe will exceed half of the market. (PAP Business)

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