VIROLITE S.A. EXTENSION

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Project ID 3722

Status Complete

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Manufacturing and Services

Notice Type

Private

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Project ID 3722

Status Complete

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Manufacturing and Services

Notice Type

Private

Environmental Category

Approval Date

22 Apr 1997

Disclosure date

15 Jan 1997

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

Project Description

The project is an extension to an existing EBRD commitment (comprising US$ 11 million loan and US$ 3 million equity) to Virolite Functional Polymers S.A., a "greenfield" chemical company located in Victoria, Romania. The extension is required to provide working capital support to Virolite.

The project's objectives are to: (i) enable Virolite to complete the project as a free-standing entity; (ii) demonstrate the EBRD's commitment to foreign direct investment in Romania; and (iii) stimulate medium and long-term lending by commercial banks.

Transition Impact

Transition impact includes: (i) strong demonstration impact on potential investors regarding the industrial potential of Romania; (ii) continued support of the largest private sector project in the Romanian chemical industry; and (iii) setting environmental standards for Romanian chemical companies.

The Client

Virolite Functional Polymers S.A. is a joint venture between Purolite International, the US/UK ion exchange resins (IER) manufacturer, and Viromet S.A., a Romanian state-owned chemical company. Purolite was established in 1981 with the objective of selling and distributing IERs. With annual sales in excess of US$ 100 million and production capacity of 63,000 m³ per annum, Purolite is one of the largest IER producers in the world.

EBRD Finance

Loan of US$ 2 million (ECU 1.6 million). Following an increase in its lending commitment to US$ 13 million (ECU 10.4 million), the EBRD will seek to syndicate up to US$ 5 million (ECU 4 million) to commercial banks on a "best efforts" basis.

Project Cost

US$ 39.1 million (ECU 31.3 million) including the original project and the extension.

Environmental Impact

The original project financed the construction of a manufacturing facility for ion exchange resins and was categorised as A/1, requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment, audit and public consultation, which were completed in 1993. Satisfactory environmental information and reports have been received as part of monitoring the original project. The extension project, US$ 2 million for working capital, which includes the construction of a new office building, has been categorised as B/0, requiring information about the office building.

Soil testing shows no issues of concern associated with the site of the office building, and adequate insulation and energy efficiency measures have been built into its design. All appropriate construction permits have been obtained. An evacuation plan will be developed.

No other significant issues have been identified for this extension project. The EBRD receives routine environmental and worker safety reports with regard to the original project. These reports will be expected to cover any issues associated with the extension project in the future.

Technical Cooperation

None.

Company Contact

PSD last updated

01 Feb 2019

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement: Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

EBRD project enquiries not related to procurement:
Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

Public Information Policy (PIP)

The PIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Public Information Policy page below to find out how to request a Public Sector Board Report.
Text of the PIP

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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