Rome, the Capitoline Council approves the budgets, the recovery plan and the industrial plan of Ama SpA

Rome, The Capitoline Council has approved the resolution with which the 2017, 2018 and 2019 financial statements of Ama SpA are closed
At the same time, the Council gave the green light to the recovery plan and the new multi-year industrial plan, which contains the actions envisaged for the relaunch of the investee company and the improvement of services to citizens: provision of new waste management systems, an expansion of the vehicle fleet and the hiring of new staff. The recovery plan provides for the refinancing of the company by Roma Capitale for 256,4 million euros, which will also cover the losses accumulated in the balance sheets.

“After Atac, we save another company from Roma Capitale. Let's give a future to Ama, which remains firmly in public hands, safeguarding over 7.200 jobs. Let's close the accounts with a past in which this company was stripped of its flesh by politics, let's draw a line and relaunch its industrial development, so that it is able to give citizens a finally efficient waste collection and treatment service. To do all this, a 'truth operation' was necessary: ​​we finally cleaned up the budgets and resolved a series of irregularities that have overlapped over the last 15 years - and which we also subjected to the evaluation of the judiciary - discovering a hole of over 250 million euros” – declares the mayor of Rome Virginia Raggi.

The 2017 financial statements close with a loss of 227 million euros: this result is affected by the devaluation of the real estate value of the Meat Center, which stands at 23,65 million euros with a consequent negative effect on the income statement of 115,8 million euros ; the credit-debit reconciliation activities with the shareholder which led to the establishment of a debt write-down fund of 115 million euros; the return to the Municipality of 156,6 million euros of Tari proceeds collected on behalf of Roma Capitale.
The 2018 budget records a loss of 12 million euros, with a result decisively affected by the fire at the Tmb plant in via Salaria. The 2019 budget presents, in a difficult context for the closure of the Tmb, a profit of 1,8 million euros.

The recovery plan provides for the refinancing of the company with the capital contribution of 256,4 million euros: of these 106,4 million euros take the form of the waiver of credits from Roma Capitale and 150 million euros through liquid assets (of of which 100 to be translated into an increase in share capital).
To support these operations, to ensure balanced economic management, investment and efficiency actions are envisaged through cost rationalization and the implementation of extraordinary interventions envisaged in the 2020-2024 Industrial Plan.

“With truthful financial statements and a serious recovery plan, Ama's new life begins today to have a future of tidy accounts and productive investments. In recent years we have said 'no' to false financial statements, because we demanded true and correct financial statements for Ama. For this reason, despite the difficulties, we preferred to put our hands in a quagmire of indistinct intragroup relationships, financial transactions suspended for decades, failed corporate reorganizations." – explains the councilor for the Budget and Strategic Coordination of the Parties Gianni Lemmetti – “The approval of the 2017-2019 financial statements is first and foremost a success for the city. Roma Capitale, thanks to the determination of the mayor Virginia Raggi and the collaboration of the sole director Stefano Zaghis, now has a company with solid and defined foundations on which to implement decisive industrial changes and carry out continuous and preventive monitoring and control actions. What happened in the past must not happen again. We have reconstructed a context of seriousness and solidity necessary to welcome the resources of the Recovery Fund and aim to create a modern company capable of satisfying the right expectations of the Romans"

The industrial plan provides for 300 new jobs with the entry of 225 ecological operators, 40 mechanics, 20 cemetery operators and 15 plant operators. Plant autonomy is one of the pillars of the Plan which aims to put into operation, by 2024, the 2 new composting plants of Casal Selce and Cesano for the treatment of the organic fraction, new collection centers within which they can be reuse centers were also created, 2 new multi-material selection plants and 1 new Biological Mechanical Treatment (TMB) plant.
The plan also aims to reach 61% of separate waste collection by 2025, bringing the objectives of Roma Capitale back to the guidelines of recent European directives. Directions that require, above all, to increase the capacity for recovery and valorisation of secondary raw materials, which is only possible by creating systems to serve separate waste collection. From this perspective, the Administration has envisaged differentiated collection models, both street and door-to-door, depending on the urban, economic and social characteristics of each Municipality, with planning that is truly local.
Important investments also for the purchase of 37 thousand new bins, 88 new sweepers, 298 new vehicles for roadside collection and 459 light vehicles for door-to-door service. Vehicles with an average age of 10/15 years will thus be replaced.

“The multi-year industrial plan does not limit itself to dictating numbers, but sets concrete goals tailored to the city of Rome, in compliance with the most recent European regulations, the guidelines adopted by the Administration and the economic-financial balances contained in the recovery plan. In this sense, the objective of 61% separate waste collection by 2024 fits in. In fact, it is not enough to increase the percentage points of separate waste collection, but it is necessary to increase the recovery capacity of secondary raw materials through the creation of plants serving the waste sorting. We are talking about short-medium term objectives that allow the company to invest in separate waste collection, being able to obtain profits that we now recognize to third parties by only supporting the costs. The new collection centers are part of this direction and will be implemented on a significant scale, aiming to reach a ratio of 1 center for every 70.000 inhabitants, the two composting plants of Casal Selce and Cesano, for the aerobic treatment of the organic fraction of waste, the construction of two light multi-material selection plants (plastic, metals and paper). A concrete and sustainable operation that aims, as a priority, at valorising the waste collection areas where the gap between profits and costs that are charged to citizens' TARI is widest. We exploit AMA's heritage by redeveloping areas of the city such as Rocca Cencia, where thanks to the overcoming of the TMB, it will be possible to invest in the multi-material selection line serving the eastern area of ​​Rome. Strategic investments in the heavy and light fleet, in bins and in staff with 300 new hires involving ecological operators, mechanics, cemetery operators and plant operators. Finally, the innovations on the subject of composting are important, with the possibility for citizens to directly purchase the composter and obtain TARI discounts, incentives for operators based on the number of hours worked and the objectives achieved in terms of separate waste collection, the theme of prevention with particular attention to the recovery of food from non-domestic users. Finally, let's cut waste related to passive rents, the outsourcing of services as happened for the UND, safeguard the public management of the company through compliance with the strategic objectives set by Roma Capitale to guarantee a better service for citizens and better conditions for all workers” – concludes the councilor for Waste and Environmental Remediation Katia Ziantoni.