OREANDA-NEWS. On 15 April 2009 was announced, that the inspection held March 31 – April 2, 2009 by the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) of the progress in fulfillment of obligations under the agreement on purchase-sale of stake in Zaporizhia Aluminum (ZALK; PFTS: ZALK) dated February 8, 2001, revealed that a number of its provisions related to amount and term of investments are not met.

According to the SPFU, of the planed USD 200 mn investments, the aluminum producer owner – Russian Aluminum (RUSAL) – contributed just about USD 120 mn.

Meanwhile, the SPFU states that with the current prices of aluminum of exchange – USD 1,400 per tonne, and electricity cost of USD 0.056 per 1 kW, the company profit margin is “minus” 35%.

At the same time the company trade union demands to suspend the production at ZALK, take measures to preserve the jobs, develop and implement a program for reconstruction and modernization of the factory, and in case of the forced partial suspension of production – to provide for financial stimulation of voluntary dismissals and pay compensation depending on the length of service.

Nevertheless, the SPFU hopes that the company will not be nationalized and that a compromise will be reached with RUSAL.