Belgrade, Serbia, October 3, 2019 —IFC and MIGA, members of the World Bank Group, are providing a €259.57 million financing and guarantees package to Beo Čista Energija d.o.o. for a landmark waste-to-energy project in Belgrade that will clean up one of Europe’s largest uncontrolled landfills and construct a new, sustainable waste-management complex to help reduce pollution and mitigate climate change.
The Belgrade Waste-to-Energy project is a public-private partnership (PPP) that involves the closure and remediation of the saturated landfill in Vinča, a suburb of Belgrade, and the construction of a new EU-compliant sanitary landfill as well as a waste-to-energy facility and a facility for processing construction and demolition waste. The project will enable the use of municipal waste and landfill gas to generate renewable heat and electricity. Construction is expected to take up to three and a half years.
IFC’s financing includes an A loan of up to €72.2 million; a parallel loan from Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank (OeEB) of up to €35 million; a B loan of up to €35 million; and a concessional senior loan of up to €20 million from the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Program. It is part of a wider package that includes an EBRD loan of up to €128.2 million.
MIGA guarantees of €97.3 million are being provided for up to 20 years against non-commercial risks, including breach of contract. The guarantees are covering up to 90 percent of investor equity in Beo Čista Energija d.o.o.
Mitsuaki Harada, managing director of Beo Čista Energija d.o.o., said: “We are pleased to cooperate on this project to address one of Serbia’s biggest environmental and social problems—closing and remediating the Vinča dumpsite. The new facilities will provide electricity equivalent to the total power consumption for approximately 30,000 households and 80 percent of the production of Konjarnik plant during winter, replacing fossil fuels and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
The project will be delivered under a long-term PPP contract awarded in 2017 to Beo Čista Energija d.o.o., a special-purpose vehicle formed by global utility company Suez S.A., the Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corporation, and Marguerite Fund II, a pan-European equity fund. IFC’s PPP transaction advisory department acted as the City of Belgrade’s lead transaction advisor from 2014 to structure and tender the project—the first large-scale environmental infrastructure structured as a PPP in the region.
“This is one of the first large-scale, bankable, private sector projects in the waste-to-energy sector in emerging markets,” said Thomas Lubeck, IFC Regional Manager for Central and Southeast Europe. “This landmark project in the City of Belgrade has the power to become an example of a sustainable solution for cities in other emerging markets to solve pressing waste management challenges using the technology and efficiency of the private sector.”
“MIGA guarantees are playing a vital role in enabling long-term private sector investment into this crucial project,” said Elena Palei, MIGA Global Head for Infrastructure. “By backstopping the obligations of Belgrade city, we are helping provide comfort to investors without the need for a sovereign guarantee, which has a positive impact on Serbia’s fiscal space.”
IFC plays a key role to play globally in advancing private sector climate solutions to help mitigate climate change. Since 2005, IFC has invested more than $18 billion in long-term financing in climate-smart industries, including renewable power generation, climate-smart agribusiness, green bonds, and green buildings.
MIGA’s portfolio in support of climate change mitigation and adaptation projects has doubled over the past six years, amounting to an issuance of $1.01 billion in FY19, and focusing on renewable energy, urban mobility and green buildings.
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities where they are needed most. In fiscal year 2019, we delivered more than $19 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org .
About MIGA
MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war & civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders.
Since its creation, MIGA has issued over $55 billion in guarantees across 114 developing countries.
About the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Program
The Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Program aims to mobilize private capital for global climate action and reflects Canada's commitment under the 2015 Paris Agreement to support developing countries in their transition to sustainable and resilient low-carbon economies.
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