Poland in last-ditch bid to save coal industry

Photo: Glowimages

“The Polish mining industry must be competitive and modern or it will disappear in a couple of years,” said Wojciech Kowalczyk, who was recently appointed government representative for the sector's restructuring.

At a recent cabinet meeting, he was given until the end of December to present a comprehensive rescue plan for the industry.

Kowalczyk stressed that the plan would not hurt miners.

“Nobody will be left without assistance,” he said.

As he explained, the current state of the sector generates losses. Poland has to provide an extra 32 zloty (7.68 euro) for every tonne of coal produced.

The sector's sales revenue in January-September 2014 fell by 2.7 billion zloty (650 million) in year-on-year terms. The companies generated a compound net loss of 1.6 billion zloty (384 million euro).

Coal production fell by 6.7 percent and coal sales declined by 10.4 percent, Kowalczyk also said.

Total liabilities reached 12.8 billion zloty (3.07 billion euro) as of the end of September, 2.8 billion zloty (672 million euro) more than a year earlier.

“This the situation we now have and there is no use in denying – this is not a good situation,” Kowalczyk said.

“The rescue plan needs to be carried out simultaneously in many areas, in a coordinated way of course.

''We cannot wait any longer, we must act, and that is what the government is doing,” he added. (kw)