KP looks to create national coking coal company

The management of coking plant Koksownia Przyjaźń (KP) will today hand the Economy and Treasury ministries a new concept of creating a coal-coking corporation, based on solid background research. "We have come up with the scheme, as the market situation has been shifting rapidly over the past few months. Almost half of coke production is currently held by LNM, owner of Ispat Polska Stal. We should first of all consolidate the remaining state-owned coking companies, and only after that privatize the unified enterprise," said Andrzej Warzecha, deputy president of KP. The company proposed consolidating five plants, including Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa. "Each coking plant has its own market. Merging them will not make money. Consolidation is not a good idea," said Wacław Korczak, president of Huta Częstochowa. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 5) M.M.