400 workers remained out of 5,000 at the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant

The area near the MGZ, where the Russian ammunition landed

Currently, at the Mykolayiv Alumina Plant (MAP), which stopped production at the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine in March 2022, 400 of the five thousand employees remain.

This is stated in the article «Trapped in stagnation: what are the chances of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant after nationalization» of the online media NikVesti.

The main task of the company's workers is the maintenance of two sludge storage facilities with an area of about 400 hectares and the preservation of the company's property, Oleksii Medvid, acting general director of the MAP, said in a comment to NikVesti.

«These 400 specialists monitor the preservation of the enterprise itself, equipment and two sludge fields. This is the only precinct that actually functions in our company. Sludge remains, it does not enter there, but is stored. It is necessary to monitor the dams,» said Oleksii Medvid.

Oleksii Medvid is the temporary head of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, photo by NikVesti

The company does not receive assistance from the state, and solves all financial needs (for example, paying employee salaries) from its own savings.

«We suspended labor relations with 80% of employees. Not fired, but suspended. Those who have expressed a desire — they work. We left specialists in the precincts and divisions who know the technology and equipment. So that they can train people and start the plant in the future,» said Oleksii Medvid.

Three months ago, the nationalization of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant (MAP), which previously belonged to the Russian oligarch Oleh Derypaska, was completed. The plant, which is the largest object of nationalization in Ukraine, is now under the management of the State Property Fund of Ukraine (PFMU), but the Russian manager Viktor Kozhevnikov is still listed as the general director in the register.

On February 16, 2023, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court made a decision regarding the nationalization of the Moscow State Mining and Mining Industry. However, the lawyers who defended the interests of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant filed six appeals against the decision of the court of first instance. Ultimately, on June 21 of last year, the Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court rejected appeals against the decision of the court of first instance regarding the confiscation of the corporate rights of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant. Therefore, the decision to confiscate one hundred percent of the capital of the plant and its related enterprises became final.

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It should be noted that MAP actually stopped its work at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and the company's corporate rights were under arrest from June 2022. In May 2023, the head of the Mykolaiv regional administration, Vitalii Kim, said that only 300 employees remained at the plant out of the 6,000 that were there before the war. They are mainly engaged in the protection and maintenance of sludge fields.

As you know, «Mykolaiv Alumina Plant» LLC is one of the biggest air polluters in the region. During 2021, the enterprise released 2,672.7 tons of pollutants into the atmosphere, which is 140.9 tons more than in 2020. The main pollutants emitted by the enterprise in 2021: nitrogen compounds — 1,345.1 tons, substances in the form of suspended solid particles — 756.6 tons, carbon monoxide — 316.7 tons, metals and their compounds — 234.8 tons.

The National Agency for Detection, Investigation and Management of Corruption Assets (ARMA) previously stated that it was unable to take control of the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant.

The head of Mykolaiv RMA Vitalii Kim wants the Mykolaiv alumina plant to produce raw materials for the production of aluminum in Europe after the transfer to state ownership.