Chairman of the Uljanik Group management board Gianni Rossanda was a guest on N1’s Newsroom on Monday, where he talked about the state of affairs at the troubled shipyards of Uljanik and 3. Maj, saying the situation was dramatic.
Uljanik has one month to find a solution, Rossanda said, adding that he did not think the government was waiting for the shipyard to go bankrupt.
“When I look at how involved we are, I don’t think that scenario is on the table. There is little time, something needs to be done soon – we all know that much.”
The restructuring plan needs to be accepted by the government, he said, and added positive feedback from Brussels would be a good sign.
The plan was sent to Brussels on July 13, and Economy Minister Horvat had said that, provided that the plan gets the green light from the European Commission, the government might spend up to €352 million, and that the government’s share of cost of the restructuring would be 60 percent, and the share of Uljanik and its strategic partner 40 percent.
Rossanda said they were moving towards a solution that would see the Rijeka-based 3. May shipyard separating from Uljanik and going in a different direction.
“It’s better that the shipyards move forward separately because more jobs can be saved that way,” he said.
When asked whether choosing Danko Koncar as a strategic partner was a bad move, he said the company selected the only partner who met the requirements and who was ready to enter the restructuring plan.
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Uljanik Group had considered bids from three companies for a strategic partnership earlier this year, and in March they selected Kermas Energija, a Croatian company owned by businessman Danko Koncar, which already owns the much smaller Brodotrogir shipyard in the Dalmatian town of Trogir.
The hope was that Koncar’s Kermas Energija would help Uljanik complete and implement a restructuring plan in line with a government decision made in January, when it issued a €96 million state guarantee for the troubled company, under the condition that the group increases its equity (by bringing in a strategic partner) and launches a restructuring plan.
“We’ve been working on envisaging a modern shipyard which would build highly sophisticated ships where some 3,000 people can earn their living without subsidies… Ships like platforms and cruisers would be built, we could be kept afloat by building three ships a year. We have references today and we know that if building is followed by financing, we can get it done,” Rossanda said.
He denied any connection with the centre-left Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), saying that the management did not have any contact with that political party.
The easiest thing to do is to shift blame and single out the management, Rossanda said.
“I would love to know what should have been done differently, what would have had better results,” he added.
Last week, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said there were three possible solutions which would enable the Uljanik Group to go forward – insolvency, a restructuring plan acceptable to both the government and the European Commission, or finding a new strategic partner.
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