EBRD Invests $155 Million in Georgian Ammonia Production Development

TBILISI – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Tuesday signed an agreement to provide USD 155 million (270 million GEL) to Georgia’s Rustavi Azot Company, a producer of nitrogen fertilizers.

The EBRD will finance the company’s capital expenditure for the reconstruction, modernization and recommissioning of an operational ammonia production line in order to cut energy consumption by 30 per cent.

The program includes an overhaul of the old Soviet-era production processes. The project will significantly improve the energy efficiency and environmental performance of the plant and will set new standards in the region, the EBRD said in its statement.

Bruno Balvanera, the EBRD’s Regional Director for Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus, said the Bank’s investments for 2016 would be three times higher than the previous year.

“By signing this agreement we reaffirm our belief in Georgia’s future,” said Balvanera.

Rustavi Azot Company is a producer of nitrogen-based fertilizers. It is the primary fertilizer supplier in the Caucasus region.

The Company has a production capacity of up to 220,000 tonnes per annum of ammonia and 14,000 tonnes of sodium cyanide. 

In 2015, the company generated 84 per cent of its sales from exports; one of the largest exporters in the country.