ROME, Dec 5 (Reuters) - An Italian court returned Europe's biggest steel plant ILVA to company control on Wednesday, after the government intervened in a dispute over environmental concerns to allow the plant to continue operating and save 20,000 jobs.
Parts of the plant including a blast furnace were seized by the court in July and placed under the control of administrators after fears factory emissions had increased deaths from cancer and respiratory diseases in the area.
The government intervened last week to save the plant after the owners said they would be forced to close what is one of the few remaining major employers in heavy industry in Italy's economically struggling south.
The technocrat government of Mario Monti said a shutdown would cost the wider economy up to 9 billion euros (${esc.dollar}11.78 billion), a steep price for a country struggling to exit a prolonged recession and reduce its debt burden.
The release allows the steel plant's owners the Riva Group to continue production while improving the technology to make it less polluting, a plan estimated to cost 3 billion euros.
ILVA produced 8.5 million metric tonnes of steel in 2011, nearly 30 percent of Italy's total output. (${esc.dollar}1=0.7642 euros) (Reporting by Vincenzo Damiani; Writing by Naomi O'Leary; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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