January 12 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provided a loan of 21.4 million euro ($23 million) to Serbian manufacturer of concrete reinforcement steel Metalfer Still Mill, it said on Thursday.
Metalfer Still Mill will use the loan for the construction of a new rolling mill for processing scrap metal and semi-finished products, which will improve efficiency and reduce emissions, , as well as a new rooftop solar photovoltaic mini-plant, producing up to 4 MW of renewable power to meet production needs, the EBRD said in a press release.
“Manufacturing is one of the sectors where reducing the use of energy and resources is most challenging, so we are happy to support two aspects of the low-carbon transition in this project - energy efficiency plus renewables,” EBRD director for the Western Balkans, Matteo Colangeli, was quoted as saying.
Metalfer Steel Mill was established in Serbia in 2005. It manufactures steel billet, rebar and wire rod, using locally sourced scrap metal. The company operates a rolling mill and a foundry and supplies its products mainly to the local construction industry.
The EBRD has invested nearly 8 billion euro in Serbia to date.
($ = 0.9291 euro)