Economy and Energy Minister Peter Dimitrov told journalists on Monday that his Ministry has presented a statement on state receivables to the Kremikovtsi iron and steel works and will expect to appear on the list of creditors in one of the foremost positions.

The registration of creditors is going on at the moment, and it will be followed by a sorting by class.

In connection with the complex permit which the plant is due to receive in October, the Minister said that urgent investments are needed in the company, and noted that well-intended statements about the distant future are useless. According to Dimitrov, investments can be made by the plant's current leaseholder if there is a serious interest.

On Friday, the Ministry submitted to the State Receivables Agency a statement about the size of the state aid provided to Kremikovtsi before the privatization. The state aid amounts to 698,956,486 leva. The statement was also provided to the trustee in bankruptcy of the plant.

The Sofia City Court issued a ruling at the beginning of August, announcing Kremikovtsi's bankruptcy. The starting date of the bankruptcy is December 31, 2005. The plant's liabilities as at the end of 2007 totaled 1,629,709,000 leva. The court appointed a temporary trustee in bankruptcy and called the first meeting of the plant's creditors on September 26, 2008.

Source: BTA; Photo: BGNES