SBK - Loan

complete

The proposed project is to construct and place into operation a greenfield plant for the production of hollow porous brick blocks in the Kyiv Region, and upgrade and expand existing production lines at the plants of SBK located in the cities of Irpen, Kharkiv and Romny for a total annual production of 250 million of brick units. The transaction will provide the company with a strong long-term competitive position on the market of construction materials in Ukraine. The project will support the restructuring and modernization process of a major player in the country’s building material sector and enhance efficiency in the brick and construction material sector in general. If successful, it will have a demonstration effect for other foreign and local investors and could result in attracting other greenfield investments to Ukraine. In addition, the project will allow the Company to reach the highest EU environmental standards by introducing the latest environmentally sound technologies from leading European equipment producers and improve environmental and energy efficiency standards of new buildings in Ukraine. SBK is a leading facing brick and a major ceramic brick producer in Ukraine. USD 8.7 million long-term debt. USD 54.4 million. The project was screened B/1. Independent environmental due diligence and a site visit by the Bank’s Environmental Specialist showed that: Whilst there are a number of outstanding environmental, health and safety issues at the existing facilities that need to be addressed, overall the Company’s operations are of a high standard and SBK has a strong commitment to implement EU standards throughout its facilities. All of the corrective measures needed at the existing facilities are contained in an environmental action plan (EAP). The location of the greenfield site is not associated with sensitive environmental issues and the new plant will be designed in accordance with EU’s Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive guidelines for Brick Manufacturing All new equipment will be sourced from the leading European suppliers and will comply with EU standards based on the use of Best Available Techniques. Levels of health and safety awareness among staff appear high and procedures are very well documented and adhered to. All necessary environmental permits are in place; fire protection and fire control are satisfactory and all potential dangerous machinery and hazardous materials is adequately controlled. The Company will review site drainage and examine measures that are in place to collect, treat and remove water in order to prevent potential contamination of other land or water. The development of Poroton bricks is likely to lead to significant improvement of environmental and energy efficiency standards of new buildings in Ukraine. Poroton-type brick is the most ecologically sound product of all walling materials available as it contains no chemical additives. Also, in contrast to a foamed concrete, Poroton absorbs and releases atmospheric moisture, which makes premises built with poroton comfortable and human-friendly (no condensation is accumulated as is the case of foamed concrete). The Company has implemented ISO 9001 in Romny and are in the process of developing a management system for occupational health and safety (OHSAS 18001). Implementation of the Environmental Management System (ISO 14001) will be completed within two years. Labour protection and human resource management is also very well developed and there a wide range of documented policies and procedures covering recruitment, dismissal, redundancies, equal opportunities etc. The Company will be required to provide the Bank with an annual environmental report, including updates on the EAP, and notification on any material accidents of incidents. None. Mr. Igor Dalichuk 8/4 R.Okipnoy Street, Kyiv 02002 Ukraine email: I.Dalichuk@sbk.com.ua tel/fax: + 380 44 390-5420-26