“Zaporizhstal of Metinvest, owned by Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky, operates as a humanitarian hub, but we are considering a plan to partially launch production capacities.” This was announced by Oleksandr Myronenko, head of Metinvest’s Humanitarian Mission Coordination Center in Zaporizhia and General Director of Zaporizhstal, in a live broadcast on March 22 during the Unified News telethon.
It’s worth noting that due to intensified military operations in the region, since the beginning of March, Metinvest Group has transferred part of the equipment of Zaporizhstal to the hot mothballing mode.
“Currently, the main equipment of the enterprise is in the hot mothballing mode. We have stopped the main production facilities in such a way that there is no threat for restoration of production. Specialists are working at the industrial site, supporting the production units mothballed. We continue to ship products which are at our warehouses and are now considering the possibility of partially launching a cold rolling shop in order to resume production and shipment of cold rolled coils to European consumers,” said Oleksandr Myronenko.
The decision to partially resume the operations is facilitated by the controlled military situation in Zaporizhia. Also, the company is convinced that a working economy only brings the victory of Ukraine nearer, and now every enterprise and every business should make efforts to get back to the working rhythm. For now, producers are developing a roadmap for a step-by-step startup of individual production facilities.
Despite the fact that the plant is in the hot mothballing mode, the steel makers do not waste time: a coordination hub for humanitarian aid for those affected by military operations operates at Zaporizhstal. The hub receives, sorts and sends humanitarian aid from the Saving Life headquarters, created by Metinvest and DTEK in coordination with the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, to people affected by hostilities.
The Metinvest Humanitarian Mission Coordination Center in Zaporizhia is also engaged in creation of conditions for receiving internally displaced people (IDP) from Ukrainian cities, most affected by the Russian military aggression. The social facilities of Metinvest in Zaporizhia can accommodate about 1,000 Ukrainians forced to leave their homes at a time. Metinvest coordination center helped regional authorities to equip another 2,000 places for accommodation of people.
“Metinvest Group in Zaporizhia created reception centers for displaced people on the basis of six social facilities. We have already sheltered thousands of people, and they receive all necessary assistance. We provide them with food and clothes, solve everyday issues, and provide medical assistance to victims. We understand that Zaporizhia is a transit city for internally displaced people, so we try to create the most comfortable conditions for rehabilitation. About 450 IDPs from hot spots of Ukraine live in our facilities permanently,” said Oleksandr Myronenko.
Volunteers of the Metinvest Youth organization in Zaporizhia also collect humanitarian aid and give it to the IDPs. Since the volunteer initiative was set in place, young workers have handed over more than 10 tons of first aid things to the IDPs.