JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s investment arm, said on Monday it would invest €242 million ($256 million) in Senegal’s largest integrated cement manufacturer, Sococim Industries, to boost low-carbon production.
Sococim, a subsidiary of French cement maker Vicat, will receive a €120 million loan from IFC’s own account and €122 million equivalent in local currency from Société Générale Sénégal and other lenders.
The majority of the financing – €214 million – will be earmarked for green activities, the IFC said in a statement.
Sococim, which plans to replace part of its current clinker lines with one new fuel-efficient one, said this investment will support its long-term financing needs.
It will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 312,000 tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030, enabling Sococim to produce cement with one of the lowest emission rates in the world, the group added.
($1 = 0.9471 euros)
(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by James Macharia Chege)
