How did Kosovo's largest companies Trepça and Telecom ended up with blocked accounts?

Combine Trepça, May 1999 (archive)

 The two largest companies in Kosovo, Telekom, and Trepça, ended up this week with blocked bank accounts, due to debts accumulated over the years.

Telecom of Kosovo owes over 25 million euros to the company Z-Mobile due to the non-fulfillment of a contract by Telecom. Meanwhile, the company Trepça has a debt of about five million euros to the Electricity Supply Distribution (KEDS) and other operators.

The Government of the Republic of Kosovo, which owns 100 percent of the shares of Telecom and 80 percent of the shares of Trepça, is making efforts to find a solution to overcome this situation, but so far, there is no any concrete plan.

The Government of Kosovo considers that Trepça has inherited unfavorable contracts, which are causing financial damage, Energjia.al reports.

To get out of this situation, the Chief Executive of Trepça, Hysen Vrajolli says that the Ministry of Economy and Environment is cooperating with the Board and Management of Trepça, to prepare the business panel to overcome the situation.

Trepça with negative business

In 2018, was declared the year of the Trepça metallurgical complex by the Government of Kosovo then led by Ramush Haradinaj, which meant the re-functionalization of the enterprise.

But, this enterprise, which was considered as one of the largest enterprises not only in Kosovo but also in the former Yugoslavia, has never since the post-war managed to be put in the function of the economic development of the country.

Currently, Trepça deals with the extraction and processing of minerals, mainly zinc, and is the only producer of its kind in Kosovo.

However, the production is very low, only about 150 thousand tons of ore per year, while in the period before 1999, the mine produced about 600 thousand tons of ore per year.

During this year, the chief executive of Trepça, Hysen Vrajolli, says that there has been an increase in production by about 30 percent compared to last year, but the fall in prices on stock exchanges and international markets, has left this company with negative results.

Workers' wages are at stake

Trepça, which in the 80s employed over 20 thousand workers, currently has 1,400 workers, who after the blocking of the account may remain without wages.

Vrajolli expects that the bank account of Trepça will be unlocked during the next week, meanwhile, to get out of this crisis in which Trepça has entered, he says that five million of euros are needed from the government.

Combine Trepça is located in the Municipality of Mitrovica. Its sectors are located in the northern and southern parts of the city.

Trepça, today within Kosovo consists of 41 different units, which are grouped mainly in three large complexes: in flotation mines, in the industrial park in Mitrovica, and in the foundry complex.

But a large part of these capacities is degraded, due to lack of maintenance or lack of investment, and even the misuse in the past.

In addition to assets in Kosovo, 31 properties of this plant are located in the republics of the former Yugoslavia, including factories, offices, and other facilities.