China's Belt and Road Initiative has breathed new life into a century-old steel plant in Serbia which was suffering long-term losses, management problems and an uncertain future.
Smederevo Steel Plant, approximately 60 kilometers from the Serbian capital Belgrade, is the largest steel producer in Serbia.
Founded in 1913, the steel mill at one point contributed 40 percent of Smederevo's revenues and the livelihoods of nearly a third of the city's residents were linked to the plant.
But in the 1990s, the company started experiencing operational difficulties and long-term losses.
In April 2016, under the Belt and Road Initiative, China's HBIS Group Co., Ltd. acquired the steel plant and established HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant.
The Chinese firm has introduced more than 20 new technologies and management systems and reused waste materials to produce steel of better quality.
Less than half a year after the acquisition, the steel plant began to make profits and became Serbia's largest exporter in 2018. More than 5,000 workers on the brink of unemployment returned to their work posts.
"We can make some high-performing team which can work together. We try with current equipment to improve processes to make better efficiency and effectiveness of each process," said Vladan Mihailovic, the chief operating officer of the steel plant.
In 2023, HBIS Smederevo Steel Plant received the Green Agenda award jointly conferred by the European Union and the United Nations Development Program.
"We have very strict parameters regarding the environmental protection. For example, our law said that it's 50 milligrams of the dust can be released in the air. And our dust emission is around five milligrams. The sulfurization show us that, our law said it's 500 milligrams of sulfur. Our sulfurization system show us that it's only two, three milligrams. I can really say that I have big thanking for our Chinese colleagues who show us the way," said Igor Zlatkovic, a technician at the plant.
Zlatkovic said the Chinese company has brought hope for the workers in the steel factory.
"So they are arriving and starting with investment. The people realize that there is a bright future. There is a light inside of the tunnel. So all of us were happy," he said.
China's Belt and Road Initiative breathes new life into old Serbian steel plant
China's Belt and Road Initiative breathes new life into old Serbian steel plant
