Prishtina, 15 April 2014 – Deputy Prime Minister Behgjet Pacolli, accompanied by Minister of Economic Development Fadil Ismajli and Minister of Spatial Planning Dardan Gashi, visited today the “Trepça” complex and informed this company’s staff and management on steps taken by the Government of Kosovo towards transforming this invaluable asset into public property.

D/Prime Minister Pacolli said that the first investments will be made through enterprise’s own-funds. Benefitting from such investments will be the floatation facilities in which minerals extracted from reserves are enriched and transformed into commercial concentrates that will open new perspectives for “Trepça”.

“Trepça” as a POE will not be subject to privatization or concession, rather, it will be returned to its miners and Kosovo’s upcoming generations. As such, it will be treated in line with global mining norms,” Pacolli said.

For his part, Minister of Economic Development Fadil Ismajli said that when taking over the post, the first major task he gave himself was to bring back “Trepça” its prestige and significance as a national economic development asset, adding that its transformation into a publicly-owned enterprise is the only possibility that ensures its proper development, bearing in mind its good standing in international markets.

He said that “Trepça” will support the Kosovo Budget, will increase social welfare, economic development, and, above all, the dignity of Kosovo miners who sacrificed for 15 years to keep “Trepça” mines alive.

The Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Dardan Gashi, said that the way “Trepça” was managed to date made it impossible to mitigate environmental damages caused for decades, and especially in the last fifteen years. Now, with the new law, “Trepça”’s management will be able to mitigate those environmental impacts.

Ahmet Tmava, “Trepça” Managing Director, said that the company’s management is mobilized and ready to take over all tasks and responsibilities, so as to ensure that production and operationalization of certain units is performed as soon as possible.

Tmava said that the company will present its new projects as soon as it is transformed into a publicly-owned company. These projects and the interest shown by the Government and Assembly towards raising the company’s prestige will make Kosovo citizens’ expectations a reality.