Alum, the only calcined alumina producer in Romania, will receive USD 25 million loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDDB) and Garanti Bank Romania. BSTDB and Garanti Bank will provide USD 20 million and USD 5 million respectively. BSTDDB said the funding will be used to continue the Company’s investments aimed at reducing its carbon footprint, which have begun a decade ago.
Earlier, Alum had replaced part of the existing equipment in order to make the production process more efficient and also to be in compliance with the European norms on environment protection.
Gheorghe Dobra, CEO of Alum said: “Alum has implemented in the last years an extensive investment programme aimed to increase its energy and processes efficiency while complying with the environmental regulations in place.”
“This new financing obtained from reliable business partners such as Garanti Bank and BSTDB represents a new step forward for continuing our long-term investment programme, focussed on technology upgrading, products portfolio’s diversification, development of new value-added products and safety and environmental protection projects.”
ALUM has also partnered with a research & development consortium organized by European Aluminium Association to launch a four-year study aimed at exploring environmentally-friendly new uses for bauxite residue in industries in which it is not currently used, according to BSTDB.
“We are pleased to start our cooperation with ALUM, a leading Romanian company and a strong international player. BSTDB’s financing, provided in partnership with Garanti Bank, supports the Company’s investment plans, expected to result in increased production and diversification of the product range. Our financing has a strong development impact through the increase of energy efficiency and sustaining environmental compliance,” said Hasan Demirhan, BSTDB Vice President Banking.
ALUM has an alumina refinery with a production capacity of 600,000 tonnes of alumina per year. The alumina produced by the company is supplied both on the domestic market to ALRO S.A., part of the Vimetco Group, and internationally.
BSTDB is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
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