OREANDA-NEWS. September 17, 2008. Donbass Fuel-Energy Company Ltd. suggested different options for the privatization of the integral property set of the state-run coal mining company Dobropolyeugol to the Ministry of Coal, DTEK’s press service informed UNIAN.

According to the information, DTEK is ready to undertake investment obligations on upgrading the equipment, improving safety as well as timely payment of salaries and extension of social benefits to the employees of the state-run enterprise Dobropolyeugol.

‘DTEK lets the Coal Ministry select an optimal form of cooperation with the state enterprise Dobropolyeugol. For its part, DTEK may be interested both in the privatization of the integral property set and in a lease, joint operations or a concession’, says the statement.

As the Company adds, the interest of DTEK in coal mining assets is related to the necessity of supplying the power plants of Vostokenergo Ltd. with fuel.

At the same time, when giving his comments to UNIAN on the position of the Ministry of Coal with regard to the propositions of DTEK, Aleksandr GOROBETS, the Press Secretary of the Ministry of Coal, said that as of today, there were no legal mechanisms for the privatization of state-owned coal mining companies or entering into joint operation agreements with would-be investors.

He indicated that next week the Ministry of Coal hoped to complete a procedure for the agreement of a new wording of the draft law ‘On Peculiarities of the Privatization of State-Owned Coal Mining Companies’ and submit it for consideration by the respective governmental committee.

‘After approval, the draft law will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada’, explained the Press Secretary.

The General Director of the SE Dobropolyeugol, Vladimir PANIBRATCHENKO, was unavailable for comment today.