Energy Ministry preparing state coal mines for transfer to State Property Fund for further privatization
The Ministry of Energy is working on preparing state-sector coal mining enterprises for transfer to the State Property Fund (SPF) and their subsequent privatization, Deputy Energy Minister Valentyna Moskalenko has said.
"The Ministry of Energy has indeed prepared our proposals for the government’s action program, and we are indeed working to prepare all (coal – Interfax-Ukraine) enterprises for transfer to the State Property Fund with their subsequent privatization and the search for an effective private investor for them," Moskalenko said at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s energy committee on Monday, which was broadcast online.
She also added that the Energy Ministry, together with the Ministry of Finance, has resolved the issue of compensating wage arrears, unused vacation pay and all other payments to employees stipulated by law at two mines that are being liquidated – Mine No. 9 (Volyn region) and the Nadiya mine (Lviv region).
"The mine liquidation projects are ready, there is money to carry out the physical liquidation measures, and all the people who wanted to move to other enterprises have done so," the deputy energy minister said.
At the same time, Moskalenko stressed that the operations of Lvivvuhillia SE have always been accompanied by debts, and this issue needs to be resolved.
"Lvivvuhillia’s debts have always existed, with varying dynamics, and haven’t gone away, and now all the debts remain with the state mines. Everything must be done to improve the state coal mining sector," Moskalenko said.