As a result of agreements between Chisinau and Tiraspol over the purchase of electrical energy from the Kuchurgan power plant at a lower price in exchange for the environmental permit for the Rybnitsa Steel Works, the Republic of Moldova saved over 1 billion lei, said Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Oleg Serebrian. According to him, the goal of Chisinau is not to push the enterprise towards bankruptcy but to make it work based on Moldova’s legislation, IPN reports.

Oleg Serebrian noted that owing to the Commission for Exceptional Situations’ decisions by which the environmental permit for the Rybnitsa Steel Works was renewed, the Government managed to maintain a reasonable electricity price for the citizens and to economize.

“During these 4-5 months, given that we paid twice less for electrical energy, we were able to save over 1 billion lei. I often travel to villages in the security zone and no one asked me anything about the environmental permit for the Rybnitsa Steel Works there. They asked me about the price of electrical energy as this is important for the people. It is important to maintain the price of energy in the current situation that is difficult due to inflation,” Oleg Serebrian stated in the program “Résumé with Ileana Pîrgaru” on RliveTV channel.

Moreover, according to the official, if the metallurgical plant in the Transnistrian region ceases operations, thousands of people from Rezina and Rybnitsa towns who work at this enterprise will be affected.

“It’s not right to say that this temporary authorization is issued strictly in accordance with the agreements on electric power. A number of factors are involved, including the human factor. Several thousand people work there, including from the right side of the Nistru. Yes, there are environmental problems that are invoked by many persons but a lot of people work at this enterprise. Several hundred families in this town will be affected,” said the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration.

He assured that the plant’s managers aim to modernize the treatment systems so that the enterprise pollutes the environment less and investments will be made for the purpose.

“Our objective is not to close the Rybnitsa Steel Works. We want this enterprise to work in accordance with the environmental norms and the legislation. In a discussion I had with the director of this enterprise, I was assured that financial resources will be invested to acquire up-to-the-minute treatment installations,” stated Oleg Serebrian.