ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government is committed to keeping open a giant ILVA steel mill in the southern city of Taranto that was threatened with closure due to heavy pollution, it said on Wednesday.
Closing the plant would cost about 8 billion euros ($10.08 billion) a year in increased imports, unemployment support, reduced tax revenues and depressed spending in the area, the government said in a statement.
In July prosecutors ordered the partial closure of the plant, which is the biggest of its kind in Europe.
Court documents, citing a number of environmental and health reports, said toxic emissions caused hundreds of deaths from respiratory diseases in Taranto and the surrounding region.
"The government, and the other institutions, are committed to guaranteeing continued production by taking steps to ensure an improvement in environmental sustainability and protect the health of workers and the public," Wednesday's statement said.
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(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Pravin Char)