Cairo--(Marketwire - April 17, 2008) -
Cairo, Egypt / April 15, 2008
OCI/Sonatrach JV Concludes Loan Agreement for Fertilizer Project in
Algeria and Signs EPC Contract
Orascom Construction Industries ("OCI") announced today that Sorfert
Algeria ("Sorfert"), a 51/49 joint venture between OCI and the Algerian
state-owned oil & gas company Sonatrach ("Sonatrach"), has entered into a
formal loan agreement with leading Algerian banks for a project finance
debt facility totaling the equivalent of approximately EUR 1.1 billion in
Algerian dinar. The loan will be used to finance the construction of
Sorfert's state-of-the-art nitrogen-based fertilizer production complex
in northwest Algeria.
Sonatrach is the national oil & gas company of Algeria, wholly owned by
the Government. It is one of the world's largest exporters of natural gas
in its various forms and is Africa's largest oil & gas company.
The loan has a tenor of 15 years including an approximately 3-year grace
period including the construction period. The arranger and agent bank is
Banque Exterieure d'Algerie. Participant banks in the syndication include
Banque Exterieure d'Algerie, Banque Nationale d'Algerie, CNEP Banque,
Banque de Developpement Local, and Credit Populaire d'Algerie.
The complex will consist of an ammonia / granulated urea plant with a
capacity of up to 1.2 million tonnes per year and a second ammonia plant
with a capacity of 0.8 million tonnes per year to be located in the
industrial zone of Arzew near several major Algerian ports on the
Mediterranean Sea. Sorfert is set to become one of the largest fertilizer
exporters on the Mediterranean. The plant is scheduled to start
commissioning its first production plant during the second half of 2010.
Sorfert also entered into an Engineering, Procurement and Construction
(EPC) contract with Uhde GmbH and OCI Algeria (OCI's wholly owned
construction subsidiary) in continuation to the Early Works Agreement
signed on 23 June 2007. UHDE has already concluded procurement of 80% of
the critical and long lead items. Furthermore construction works on the
site is already underway since last year. Uhde is a world leader in the
field of urea production technology. OCI has partnered with Udhe on
several projects in the past including the construction of two urea
production lines for Egyptian Fertilizer Company (EFC), a recently
acquired wholly owned subsidiary to OCI.
The signature ceremony for both the loan agreements and the EPC contract
was held yesterday in the capital Algiers. The ceremony was attended by
His Excellency Chakib Khalil, Minister for Energy and Mr. Mohamed Loukal,
the President of Banque Exterieure D'Algerie. Also attending the ceremony
were high profile officers from Sonatrach including Mr. Mohammed Meziane,
the President of Sonatrach, Dr. Faghouli Vice President of Sonatrach's
Downstream Activities (AVAL), and officers from OCI and Uhde.
OCI Chief Executive Officer, Nassef Sawiris commented "we are extremely
proud of the progress we have achieved together with Sonatrach in this
landmark Algerian project. With global demand for fertilizers on the
rise, we hope to play an important role in international trade."
White & Case is the acting legal counsel for Sorfert on this loan
agreement.
For additional information contact:
OCI Investor Relations Department: For additional information on OCI:
Investor.relations@orascomci.com Orascom Construction Industries (OCI)
Nile City Towers - South Tower
Hassan H. Badrawi 2005A Corniche El Nil
Email hassan.badrawi@orascomci.com Cairo, Egypt
Omar Darwazah www.orascomci.com
Email: omar.darwazah@orascomci.com
Ahmed Sultan OCI stock symbols:
Email: ahmed.sultan@orascomci.com OCIC.CA / ORCI EY / OCICqL / ORSD
Tel: +202 24611036/0727/0914
Fax: +202 2461 9409
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange