EIB Supports the Upgrading of Pulp and Paper Production in Russia

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 100 million to finance the modernisation and expansion of an integrated pulp and paper mill in Syktyvkar in the Russian Federation. This is the first EIB loan provided by the Bank under the Eastern Partners Facility (EPF).

The EIB loan will finance the upgrading of pulp, paper and paperboard production, increased power generation from renewable resources, the extension of the wood yard and investments improving environmental performance and energy efficiency and enable the use of vast previously underutilised wood resources. After completion, the project is expected to result in greenhouse gas savings of some 455 000 tonnes/year.

This project further develops the cooperation between the EIB and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), as both institutions are supporting the project, promoted by Mondi plc, a leading European paper and packaging producer and a long-standing customer of the EIB.

The loan is structured under the EPF, a EUR 1.5 billion facility set up by the EIB at its own risk, with a ceiling of EUR 500 million for projects in Russia. This facility complements the external lending mandate and enables the EIB to provide loans to support EU investment in the region, particularly by European corporates.

“Supporting energy efficiency projects will be one of the major goals of EIB lending in Russia in the years to come”, commented EIB Vice President Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen. “We will thereby contribute to the objectives of Russia and the policies of the European Union at the same time”.