EBRD invests in Lafarge Russia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has invested € 120 million in Lafarge Vostok, a holding company that owns Lafarge's cement operations in Russia. The capital, to pay for expansion and modernisation work, follows a silimar € 70 million equity investment in 2006.

The funds will partially finance a new state-of-the-art cement plant at a greenfield site in Ferikovo. According to the EBRD, the 2 million tonnes per year plant in the Kaluga region will produce -31% less CO2 and have half the energy consumption of comparable plants in Russia.

Other projects include the modernisation of plants in Voskresensk, 120 km southeast of Moscow and Korkino, 40 km south of Chelyabinsk. These plants are already undergoing modernisation programmes that should see their CO2 emissions reduced by 200000 tonnes per year at current production levels.

Other financial details of this transaction were not disclosed.