The European Investment Bank is providing two loans totalling some EUR 94 million for two different projects in Brazil.
The first loan of some (EUR 54 million -USD 70 million) for the upgrading of an oil refinery in Southern Brazil is for Repsol YPF Brasil S.A.. The loan will support the technical and environmental upgrading of the Alberto Pasqualini refinery in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, next to Porto Alegre.
The Bank's finance is earmarked for the civil works and mechanical erection contracts related to the construction of the hydrotreater, the sulphur recovery installations and the required off-site installations. All units are expected to become operational during 2005.
The project will raise the refinery's capacity by some 40 %. It will help to meet growing domestic demand for oil products. Particularly, it will enhance the higher quality fuels to satisfy the new trends in market demand. The investment aims as well at reducing the specific emissions from the refinery to alleviate local air quality problems. The refinery represents some 8% of the total refinery capacity in Brazil, which is currently made up of 13 refineries.
The second loan of EUR 40 million is to implement a new production facility of Continental do Brasil Produtos Automotivos Ltda. for passenger car tyres. The additional capacity will contribute mainly to exports towards the NAFTA market, and partly to satisfy the fast-growing domestic demand.
The project includes, among others, the engineering of the tyre plant, civil works, and the installation of production equipment. The annual capacity will be more than four million tyres. The project will create some 600 jobs and is to be completed by the end of 2007.
The new plant is placed close to Salvador de Bahia (northeastern Brazil) in the Camaçari Petrochemical Industry Park. Continental do Brasil is a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental AG of Germany. The latter is Europe's second-largest automotive systems supplier and ranks fourth among global tyre manufacturers. It is listed in Frankfurt's stock exchange.