CAIRO: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is helping Lebanon's Indevco Group go green as the company builds its presence in Egypt. Today, IFC committed a $26.4 million investment in support of the company's new $76.8 million tissue paper mill, which will use wastepaper as its primary source of raw material. At full capacity, the mill will employ 170 people, produce 50,000 tons of tissue paper, and recycle 22,000 tons of wastepaper per year. The greenfield mill, called Interstate Paper Industries, will be built in Sadat City. Slated to begin production in mid-2008, it will produce goods for export to converters across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, boosting the company's total tissue production capacity to more than 80,000 tons per year. The company's increased demand for waste paper will also create indirect employment: an estimated 1,000 new wastepaper collection agents will be needed to gather discarded office and copy paper, as well as printer trimmings, and deliver these supplies to the mill. Environmental benefits will include forest preservation and a reduction in landfill usage estimated at 72,600 cubic meters a year. The project is not IFC's first transaction with Indevco. An earlier IFC investment supported the company's construction of a corrugated box manufacturing plant south of Cairo. "IFC is delighted to provide another round of financing to a client that is committed to high standards of business ethics and social responsibility, in a project that creates jobs and expands Egypt's recycling market, said Lars Thunell, head of IFC. "IFC's financing will support the company's export-oriented manufacturing strategy and will enhance the company's environmental profile, further reducing its reliance on virgin pulp. "IFC's investment was crucial for us to move forward with this exciting tissue mill project, and we are glad to have IFC as a long-term partner, said Neemat Frem, President and CEO of Indevco SAL. "We see this project as complementing our growth strategy in the region, he added.
