We continue to present the 2018 nominations for the energynomics.ro Awards, with the Financing of the year category. Only one of the projects below will be rewarded during the Gala from December 5th, but every company and everyone involved in these projects deserve our respect and the widest promotion. We thank all the companies and personalities involved in this effort to draw the image of the Romanian energy industry in 2018 through its achievements!
Banca Comercială Română – Green Oil and Lubes
Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) and EBRD provided the Romanian company Green Oil and Lubes SRL with a US$ 38.7 million syndicated loan on a club loan basis for the development, construction and operation of a recycling plant for waste lubricant oils.
The financing is part of a US$ 56 million investment program with the goal to build and operate a 73,000-metric-tonne recycling facility in the south Romanian city of Oltenita, Calarasi County. The group will contribute US$ 26 million of its own resources to the investment program, while the remaining US$ 30 million will be ensured by a term loan in equal measure signed by the EBRD and BCR. Under the same facility agreement, BCR will also provide US$ 8.7 million for the financing of working capital needs and recoverable VAT related to the development of the project.
BERD – Bacău City Hall
The population of Bacau will benefit from a EUR 11 million loan from the EBRD and the Green Energy Special Fund (GESF) for the rehabilitation and modernization of street public lighting. EUR 6 million will come from EBRD and EUR 5 million from GESF. Through this project, mercury lamps will be replaced by LEDs on 60 streets in priority areas in the city center, covering an area of nearly 40 km; modern lighting poles will be upgraded and a subterranean cable network will be developed to replace the overhead cables. LED technology will increase city safety and reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions by half.
EximBank – Romelectro
A 150 million lei grant from EximBank to one of the largest contractors for energy projects Romelectro. The amount is intended to finance projects that the company has in place both in the country and abroad and includes a component covering temporary cash and guarantee needs.
Only during the last months, Romelectro won the auctions organized by CNTEE Transelectrica SA for the modernization of several transformation power stations, Focsani West, Roman Nord, Bacău Sud, Smârdan, Craiova and Medgidia, contracts worth over 50 million euros. The modernization project for the Bradu 400/220/110/20 kV station and an investment in several 220 kV and 110 kV line segments in Kosovo is also under way.
Raiffeisen Bank – Softronic Craiova
Softronic of Craiova, the only industrial plant producing electric frames and locomotives in Eastern Europe, controlled by four Romanian entrepreneurs, receives a 14 million euro funding from Raiffeisen Bank.
The amount will support the operations of a local manufacturer of locomotives and new electric trains, including Transmontana – the most advanced electric locomotive in Eastern Europe. The loan, guaranteed by EximBank by issuing guarantees in the name and on behalf of the Romanian state, will to cover the costs of production and delivery of six electric locomotives, which will be endowed with Green Cargo AB in Sweden. In June 2017, Softronic signed a contract with the Swedish Green Cargo operator for delivering eight Transmontana locomotives. The first two locomotives have already been produced and delivered, and are currently in the phase of final testing. The next six locomotives, whose production is financed by Raiffeisen Bank, will be delivered starting from the end of 2019, to the middle of 2020.