Kiev, Ukraine, July 31, 2006--The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is taking part in syndicating loans for the Kronospan Ukr timber mill, in Novovolynsk, Volyn region, for a total of 60 million euros and a project of Poland's Barlinek Invest to build a wood floor production in Vinnytsya for 40 million euros, according to Interfax.
The two loans will total 100 million euros, however EBRD financing will be less since it concerns syndicated loans, said Anton Usov, press secretary for the EBRD's Ukrainian representation.
A 46.8 million euro loan from Poland's Cersanit Invest is being discussed to build a plant to produce ceramic tile and bathroom equipment in Novohrad-Volynsk. This was earlier planned for the end of July, but has been postponed until September, Usov said.
The resources are expected to be used to refurbish an existing plant and install two lines to produce woodboards. The total cost of the project is 100 million euros.
Kronospan Ukr is owned by Kronospan Holding East Limited, which is part of the Kronospan Group, a large producer of wood panels.
Barlinek Invest announced at the end of 2005 plans to build a wood floor plant in Vinnytsya with a capacity of 2 million square meters of floor a year. The cost of the project is 130 million Polish zloty (about 203.4 million hryvni).
Barlinek SA, a Polish wood floor producer, owns 99% of Barlinek Invest.
The EBRD has financed projects for a total of 2.27 billion euros in Ukraine as of May 1, 2006.
