The Netherlands may pay up to $3.26 billion for the green transformation of Tata Steel Ltd.’s IJmuiden factory, which has caused serious health and environmental problems in the surrounding area, reported Bloomberg on June 5.
On Wednesday, the steelmaker's shares were trading 6.6 percent higher at Rs 169.45 apiece.
On June 4, the Dutch parliament approved providing an unspecified amount of subsidies to the company to accelerate the renovation. External consultants estimate subsidies could reach $3.26 billion, according to a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate, reported Bloomberg.
People living close to Tata Steel’s Dutch steelworks have a life expectancy that is 2.5 months lower than the average for the Netherlands due to the plant’s emissions, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said last year, reported Reuters.
The Institute said its research showed that exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide increases the risk of lung cancer and that 4% of the new cases in the area could be attributed to the emissions from the plant.
The research also showed that 3% of new cases of asthma in children were due to the emissions.
Negotiations with Tata Steel to reach an agreement on the funding have started, but the process is confidential and the ministry can’t comment on the financial size of the subsidy yet, the ministry spokesperson said, reported Bloomberg on June 5.
Tata is “pleased with the broad support” from the Dutch parliament to make the steelworks more sustainable, according to Tata Steel spokesman Peter van Boesschoten.
“Apart from the money we will put in our Green Steel plan ourselves, we will need government support, just like our competitors in Germany, Belgium and France, to establish a European level playing field as much as possible,” Van Boesschoten said.
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