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EBRD and Lafarge reinforce their cooperation in Polish cement sector
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided Lafarge Cement Polska with a multi-currency loan of €75 million to modernise its cement production facilities in Poland. The company is a subsidiary of Lafarge and one of the country's leading cement producers.
"The EBRD’s investment will help improve the competitiveness of the building materials sector in Poland," said Charles Frank, the EBRD’s First Vice President. "This project is one more example of the excellent co-operation we have established with Lafarge in financing investments in central and eastern Europe."
The EBRD’s loan will be used to finance construction of a new cement plant in Kujawy, which is located some 200 km west of Warsaw near Bydgoszcz, and to upgrade the company’s other cement plant in Malogoszcz, near Kielce. The total cost of the project is estimated at €179 million, €75 million of which will be syndicated to commercial banks. A large portion of the loan may be provided in Polish zloty, making it one of the largest local-currency loans provided by the EBRD.
Lafarge Cement Polska was formed in 1999 through the merger of its three cement production plants in Poland: Kujawy, Malogoszcz and Wierzbica. The company has a combined market share of over 22 per cent with a total capacity of 3.7 million tons per year. Lafarge Cement Polska is among Poland's 20 most profitable firms.
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