MZA

cancelled

A loan of ECU 13.4 million to finance the construction of a plant to recycle electronic scrap and to recover its precious metal content. The plant will be located in Kaluga, 180 km west of Moscow. This project has been cancelled. The project is an attempt by the Russian Government and the Ministry of Defence to entrust the realisation of assets to a private commercial venture backed by international investors. The Russian Government has elected to let the private sector come up with, and compete for, its own technological and commercial solutions. The success of this venture will set a high-profile precedent to be duplicated in other circumstances. Metallurgicheski Zavod Ametist is a newly formed company. Its main shareholder is Ametist AOOT, which was a leading military company producing electronic components for hardware used in guiding systems. The plant will be built by Valme Industries SA, a French company specialising in this sector. International investment funds will provide around 30 per cent of the equity financing. The EBRD will provide a US$ 17.1 million (ECU 13.4 million) loan, of which US$ 6.4 million (ECU 5.2 million) will be syndicated to commercial banks. US$ 32.2 million (ECU 25.7 million). The project involves the conversion of a former military site into an electronic scrap recycling facility. The project has environmental objectives as it contributes to the reduction and processing of waste material requiring final disposal. The project was screened as B/1, requiring environmental auditing of existing facilities located in Kaluga and an environmental analysis to identify environmental or health and safety issues associated with the proposed development and to review the adequacy of the proposed mitigation measures. The main environmental issues identified encompassed regulatory compliance of the existing facility and of the proposed development with Russian and European Union requirements, responsibility for existing liabilities at the military site, waste-water treatment and discharge, air emissions and waste management. Based on the findings of environmental investigations, a preliminary Environmental Action Plan (EAP) has been prepared. The EAP includes the adoption by the company of an environmental management system, a programme for investigation and monitoring of sub-surface soil and water quality, and provisions for air emissions, liquid effluents and waste management. As part of the agreement with the EBRD, the company will be required to finalise and implement the EAP to ensure the company's compliance with applicable regulatory requirements in Russia and in the European Union. The company will also be required to report annually to the Bank on environmental, health and safety matters, including the implementation of the EAP. None