Italy minister sees little interest in Alcoa plant

　　Prospects of finding a buyer for Alcoa Inc's loss-making aluminium works in Sardinia are extremely remote, Italian Industry Minister Corrado Passera said on Tuesday.

　　"We shouldn't hide from ourselves the fact that this is a nearly impossible situation with extremely little to interest possible investors," Passera told a meeting in Reggio Emilia in central Italy.

　　Alcoa has begun the process of powering down the smelter and is expected to shut down operations from the end of October if no buyer is found.

　　Closure of the plant would threaten around 500 jobs at Alcoa as well as some 1,000 jobs that depend on the plant, whose future has been put at risk by high energy prices.

　　Swiss commodities group Glencore has eyed the plant and met officials in Rome last week, and is expected to provide an assessment of the situation in the coming days.