The court has ordered the closure of the hot rolling mill at the Acciaierie d’Italia plant in Taranto

The decision requires the necessary procedures to be initiated within 90 days unless the environmental issues are resolved

The Milan Court of Appeal has ordered the ‘hot zone’ of the Acciaierie d’Italia steelworks (formerly Ilva) to be shut down for 90 days unless environmental issues are resolved. This was reported by Il Fatto Quotidiano.

The court order states that operations may only resume once all asbestos has been completely removed from the equipment and the necessary measures have been taken to bring fine dust emissions within safe limits, in line with the production scenario of 6 million tonnes of steel per year stipulated in the relevant environmental permit.

This partially upholds the appeal lodged by the civil society organisation ‘Parents of Taranto’ against the lower court’s ruling from February this year. That ruling had imposed a ban on production from 24 August unless the Integrated Environmental Authorisation (AIA), issued in 2025 for a period of 12 years, was strengthened.

As the publication notes, the administrators of Acciaierie d’Italia are likely to lodge an appeal with the Court of Cassation, thereby delaying the process. However, the proceedings at the Court of Cassation will concern only procedural matters, not the substance of the case.

It should be recalled that the US investment fund Flacks Group is seeking to resume its bid for Acciaierie d’Italia. Meanwhile, the government is considering the idea of leasing the company’s assets for a period of 18 months as a preparatory step towards a sale. This procedure will also be conducted via a tender, which may attract other participants in addition to the two current direct bidders for the company — Flacks and Jindal Steel International.