Lukavac coke plant closes after 60 years, Zenica steelworks also at risk

After 60 years of operation, the Lukavac coke plant, one of the region's leading producers of metallurgical coke, has shut down, with facilities being gradually wound down to prevent environmental pollution.

The plant was established during Yugoslavia's rapid industrialisation to supply coke for blast furnaces used in iron production. Bosnia and Herzegovina served as a heavy industry base in former Yugoslavia, symbolised by the Zenica steelworks, now also on the brink after ArcelorMittal sold its stake, putting around 1,900 jobs at risk.

The Lukavac plant produced up to 10,000 tonnes of crude benzol and 30,000 tonnes of crude tar annually and generated and distributed electricity from its own facilities. It has now entered bankruptcy, with its assets, covering about 102 hectares, offered for sale at an estimated €100 million.

Interested buyers may acquire in whole or in part a power plant, the maleic anhydride (AMK) factory used in the production of synthetic resins, plastics and paints, a solar power plant, the coke production unit, rail transport facilities, a nitrogen fertiliser plant, maintenance workshops and other assets, including land and property outside the factory complex.

Efforts to save the plant lasted for years, but bankruptcy was declared after the Tuzla Canton government, its formal owner, failed to find a strategic partner.

"We are outraged at the whole situation, at the cantonal and Federation governments. If they had wanted to, they would have found a solution. Today it is us, tomorrow the Zenica steelworks, the day after the Federation Railways. Everyone will feel it," union leader Ermin Halilović told Federation TV (FTV).

The management of the new Zenica steel company, established after ArcelorMittal's withdrawal from Bosnia and Herzegovina, has already filed for bankruptcy. The former industrial giant is burdened with accumulated debt of €162 million.