Nairit shares to become Armenian government’s property again
Armenia’s energy and natural resources minister Yervand Zakharyan said today that Nairit chemical plant, whose 90% shares were pledged at the Moscow-based Interstate Bank, will become a government property again.
Speaking to reporters, the minister said they expect the final decision of the bank, following its decision to write off the plant’s debts. He said only after it the government could speak about its future steps concerning the Soviet-built sprawling enterprise on the outskirts of the Armenian capital that has been idle for years.
Zakharyan reconfirmed that the government’s stance is to reactivate the plant providing there is an investor.
With regard to a World Bank study concluding that Nairit does not have the technical and financial viability for continued operation, the minister said the government has no reason to question World Bank’s findings, although it disagrees with its position.
According to the minister, although the plant is idle, the ministry continues to pay salaries to 460 employees, which is about 70-75 million drams a month. He also denied rumors about the sale of the facility.
In summer the minister said the government did not want to declare Nairit a bankrupt, because it would require sizable financial expenses in its wake, as well as safety and hazard neutralization issues that would also require millions of dollars in expenses over years.
Nairit was the only plant in the Soviet Union to produce chloroprene rubber. The plant was closed in 1989 for environmental reasons and resumed operating partially in 1992. In 2006, 90% of Nairit’s shares were sold to British Rainoville Property Limited for $40 million. The remaining 10% belong to the Armenian government. -0–