The Ribnita Steel Plant on the left bank of the Dniester River has ceased operations and will be impossible to reopen in the near future, according to director Serghei Kornev. Before the plant was shut down, January production was projected to reach 17,500 tons. Now, production is halted, leaving over 2,000 metallurgy specialists unemployed, IPN reports, citing local media.
The cited source notes that the cutoff of natural gas on January 1 led to the closure of all industrial enterprises in the region, except for food-related businesses.
In December, the Ribnita plant continued its steel rolling processes, but after January 1, the electric furnace consuming 95 megawatts per hour was shut down amid the energy crisis. Allowing the furnace to operate would have left the entire Transnistrian region without electricity, according to the source.
"Today, the Ribnita Steel Plant is closed, without energy resources. Furthermore, the plant required significant water consumption, so on New Year's Eve, the system had to be drained to prevent pipe damage," explained Kornev.
"Given the current situation, reopening the plant will be extremely difficult and, in the near term, impossible", Kornev added.
The plant's closure poses significant risks to the economy of the Transnistrian region. The plant's products were primarily sold on the European market, and it can no longer fulfill its orders. Long-term clients are seeking alternative suppliers, and the region's budget will no longer benefit from the plant's contributions. Kornev explained that the projected January production of 17,500 tons is now zero, leading to zero tax revenues as well.
Over 2,000 workers at the Ribnita Steel Plant are now jobless. The director aims to retain the workforce by paying minimum wages, so the plant has not been officially declared permanently closed but rather on pause. "We can sustain this phase for two months", said Kornev.
On December 12, 2024, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean also mentioned that nearly 2,500 plant employees were losing their jobs. Recean had requested the Parliament to declare a state of emergency in Moldova, explaining that the plant could no longer be supplied with electricity after the Ukrainian Podolsk substation, which provided high-voltage power, was bombed.
"2,500 people have lost their jobs and incomes. If anyone still believes that Russia cares for or protects the people in the Transnistrian region, it should now be clear that they are being held hostage and used to destabilize Moldova and the region", stated Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
