EBRD to loan Lafarge Vostok up to EUR120m

EBRD to loan Lafarge Vostok up to EUR120m
13 August 2009


The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) could loan Lafarge Vostok, up to EUR120m for direct investment in Russia, the bank said in a statement.
 
The loan is a follow-up transaction under an earlier approved multi-project facility with Lafarge for EUR300m covering the acquisition, modernisation, expansion, construction and operation of manufacturing facilities in the cement, lime, aggregates and ready-mix concrete sectors, the statement says.
 
"The project objective is to support the development of Lafarge’s investment program, which assists in the privatization and/or the development of local companies in the eligible sectors, enhances their performance and improves their environmental standards," it says.
 
Lafarge Vostok’s sub-project costs are estimated at approximately 380 million euros.
 
The EBRD board of directors will consider the loan on September 8.
 
Lafarge announced in April 2008 that it planned to build four cement plants in Russia - in the Kaluga and Rostov regions, the Krasnodar territory and in Korkino in the Chelyabinsk region. However, the company said at the end of 2008 that it was reducing investment in 2009 due to a decline in demand for its products. The company said investment had been restricted to EUR2bn, while the sale of assets will exceed EUR1bn.
Published under Cement News