Posted on 13 Jan 2025
The Moldovan Metallurgical Plant (MMZ) in Rybnitsa has gone into shutdown mode in the self-proclaimed Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (PMR), a pro-Russia enclave on the territory of the Republic of Moldova.
The cessation of gas supplies to Transnistria has led to the suspension of all industrial activities, with the exception of the food industry, according to local media reports.
Russia's Gazprom stopped gas supplies to Moldova on 1 January after it refused to pay a debt of $709 million, which Moldova argues should be only $8.6m.
Moscow supplies about 2 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year to the former Soviet republic.
In January, MMZ planned to produce about 17,500 tonnes of finished products, Kallanish notes. However, due to the shutdown of production, this figure dropped to zero. In December, the plant was still partially operational, producing steel products. However, the energy crisis forced the shutdown of the electric arc furnace, which consumes about 95 MW/hour.
“The resuming of the plant's operations would be extremely difficult,” MMZ’s general director, Sergei Kornev, tells First Pridnestrovian TV Channel. "After such events, restarting the plant in a short time is practically impossible and the plant cannot be idle for more than two months. The most important thing for us now is to keep the team.”
The plant is energy-intensive, and the downtime means a minimum level of payments to employees, he adds. More than 2,000 MMZ employees are currently on layoffs and are receiving only the minimum wage, as long as the plant can afford it.
The shutdown of the plant has serious consequences for both MMZ and the economy of Transnistria. The plant is unable to fulfil orders, and regular customers are forced to look for other suppliers, the TV channel noted.
MMZ was acquired by the PMR government in 2015. The plant once produced around 200,000-300,000t/y of steel products. Shipments were aimed mainly at Moldova, Ukraine and the EU. Products include square billet, rebar, wire rod, round bar and merchant bar.
Source:Kallanish
