Gazprombank and Cherkizovo Group have signed a loan agreement to finance the construction of a high-tech automated production facility for slaughtering pigs and processing pork in the Tula Region.
Gazprombank will grant Cherkizovo a 12-year credit facility, providing RUB 40.8 billion of the RUB 48 billion (€560 million) that is set to be invested in the project.
The deal is structured as a project financing arrangement under the ministry of agriculture's concessional lending programme for agricultural producers.
New Facility
The slaughtering and processing facility in the Tula Region will increase Cherkizovo’s meat production capacity to 500,000 tonnes per year.
Additionally, the new factory will create over 2,000 highly-paid jobs in the region.
Irina Kondratova, head of treasury, corporate finance, and reporting at Cherkizovo Group, said, "The slaughtering and processing facility will be part of Russia’s largest meat-processing cluster, which we are putting together in the Tula Region.
"We are very pleased that the project is supported by Gazprombank, our long-time partner with a strong track record for reliability."
Gazprombank
Gazprombank ranks among Russia’s top three banks by main volume indicators (according to Interfax-100. Russian banks) and is one of the largest financial institutions in Central and Eastern Europe.
Timur Belikov, executive vice president at Gazprombank, said, "This ambitious project in partnership with one of Russia’s leading agricultural players is a major milestone in the long-term cooperation between Gazprombank and Cherkizovo Group. We are confident that our expertise and extensive experience in financing the agricultural sector will help bring the project to successful completion."
"Cherkizovo Group is Russia’s largest meat producer. We are happy to be contributing to the construction of a new facility that should bolster the Group’s market position," commented Gennady Koptyaev, vice president and branch manager at Gazprombank’s Central Black Earth Branch.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Supply Chain news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
