EL-ZAY

completed

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)Project NameJordan-El-Zay     RegionCentral Asia, Middle East and North AfricaSectorProject No007919Projected Board DateMay 9, 1997Company NameEl-Zay Ready Wear Manufacturing CompanyTechnical Partner and/or Major Shareholders El-Zay is a publicly listed company with a paid-in capital of about US$13 million equivalent. It is controlled by the Muasher family headed by Mr. Nadim Muasher, a prominent Jordanian businessman. Gruppo GFT, a major Italian clothing company and El-Zay’s largest client, owns about 7.68% of the company.Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment Project cost of about US$11 million (including an IFC loan of US$5 million).Location of project and Description of site Located in Rusaifeh, 20 km north of Amman, El-Zay is a modern three-story 8,000 square meters plant occupying a site of 12,000 square meters.Description of Company and Purpose of Project At present, El-Zay is specialized in the manufacture of high quality men’s suits. It benefits from a 10-year technical assistance and commercial agreement with Gruppo GFT which was instrumental in the smooth and successful start-up of the company. Under this agreement, GFT has committed to buy up to 70% of El-Zay’s output on a sub-contracting or Cut-Make (CM) basis. The remaining output is either sold locally or exported to neighboring and EU countries. The project consists of (i) an expansion program to diversify El-Zay’s product line by manufacturing other men’s outerwear; and (ii) a financial restructuring designed to strengthen El-Zay’s balance sheet by replacing most of its short and medium term debt with long term debt. IFC’s proposed investment would help the company complete the project’s financial plan and improve its financial structure by providing funding on terms and maturities not otherwise available in Jordan. Also, garment manufacturing operations typically employ numerous people in a relatively confined factory. Adequate fire prevention at the site is imperative as are sufficiently low noise levels, adequate lighting and sanitary facilities. IFC will require that El-Zay’s new facilities comply with World Bank guidelines in this regard. The project’s developmental impact is expected to be significant as measured by (1) the transfer by GFT of operating know-how to local Staff and (2) the high quality standards introduced in the Jordanian textile industry.Environmental Category and Issues This is a category B project according to IFC’s environmental review procedure. Environmental, occupational health and safety issues associated with this project include: sanitary discharge treatment and disposal, solid waste management, general occupational health and safety procedures including training, and fire prevention and emergency evacuation. The sponsor has presented plans to address these issues and demonstrate that the proposed project will comply with applicable govenmental and World Bank requirements. Key actions include measures for the treatment of El-Zay’s sanitary effluent, recycling of solid waste and employee safety training programs. IFC will ensure ongoing compliance with World Bank environmental health and safety policies and guidelines during the life of the project by evaluating monitoring reports submitted annually to IFC by El-Zay and by conducting periodic supervisions.The is from the Public Information Center.Date SPI sent to PIC April 4, 1997For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -telephone: (202) 473-7711facsimile: (202) 974-4384Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).