The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) announced that it is providing a $40mn corporate loan to Romanian aluminium producer Alro, part of Vimetco Group, for its capital investment programme.

The seven-year loan will be used primarily for improving the company’s energy management performance as well as high value-added production capacity.

The project’s total cost amounts to around $95mn, to be also financed by Romanian and international commercial banks.

“Supporting responsible ESG investment is our priority goal as a regional development bank. We are delighted to see our long-term client introducing energy efficiency measures and environmentally sustainable practices that are in line with the Romanian government’s policy priorities. Given the positive outlook for the economy, we believe the company will be able to meet increased domestic demand and bring substantial development impact to the Romanian economy including job creation, export promotion and increased revenues for the state budget,” said Dmitry Pankin, BSTDB president.

“We run a responsible business and the significant investments made in projects aiming to protect the environment by reducing emissions, improving energy efficiency and optimise the use of resources are proofs of our progress in this direction. This new agreement represents a recognition of our efforts and we are delighted to continue the partnership with BSTDB, an active supporter of our sustainable projects and businesses.”, said Marian Nastase, Alro chairman.

Since 2005, the BSTDB has provided a total of $120mn financing in support of Alro group’s development. Alro is one of the largest vertically integrated aluminium producers in Europe, with an installed annual production capacity of 265,000 tonnes of electrolytic aluminium, 35,000 tonnes of recycled aluminium and 335,000 tonnes of cast aluminium.