A joint stock company (JSC) with the participation of PJSC Centrenergo and state-run coal mining enterprises may be created already in the first half of this year, Deputy Energy Minister Maksym Nemchynov said.

"If the political decision does not change, the company will be established in the first half of 2021. We already have a valid government decree that launched its creation, and an audit of state mines is already underway to make a decision to merge them with Centrenergo," Nemchynov said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, within the framework of the audit carried out by the Energy Ministry jointly by the State Property Fund and Centrenergo, almost all the information needed for the audit regarding the economic and technical situation, as well as prospective coal reserves, has been already received.

"By January 10, we expect the final submission of information and by March we will tentatively understand which mines are suitable for integration in order to start this process," the Deputy Energy Minister said.

At the same time, he said that the DTEK Dobropilliavuhillia LLC is considered primarily as a candidate for integration with Centrenergo. At the same time, Nemchynov said that the final decision will be made after the audit.

As reported, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in early October approved a plan of measures to create a joint stock company with the participation of state-run coal mining enterprises and Centrenergo.