The FINANCIAL — The EBRD is investing in the modernisation of the Jordanian poultry sector with a €19 million loan to local producer Al Jazeera Agricultural Company PSC that will help increase the supply of safer and more hygienic produce for consumers.
The financing for Al Jazeera, one of the leading integrated poultry producers in the country, will provide working capital and also support the company’s expansion plans, including the construction of a new grain mill and investments in energy efficiency, according to EBRD.
The energy efficiency investments will reduce Al Jazeera’s fuel consumption for farmhouse heating by at least 20 per cent with the support of a US$ 180,000 grant under the EBRD’s FINTECC (Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change) programme.
FINTECC helps companies put in place innovative climate technology, providing grants, technical assistance and advice from consultants in parallel with EBRD loans.
In the case of the Al Jazeera investment, the company will be introducing high-efficiency heating systems fitted with integrated heat recovery systems which will reduce the use of diesel and provide more efficient heating and ventilation at the same time reducing operational costs.
Philip Bennett, the EBRD Vice President, said: “We are very pleased to sign our first agribusiness project in the country; to support a strong, local company helping to set quality standards and improve food security in Jordan. In addition, through this investment the Bank will contribute to increasing employment opportunities and economic growth in rural areas.”
This is also the first EBRD project supported by FINTECC in the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. Terry McCallion, Director of the EBRD’s Energy Efficiency and Climate Change team said: “There is an increasing demand in the region for cost-effective energy efficiency solutions. We designed FINTECC to accelerate the deployment of advanced resource efficiency technologies and to support the development of their supply chains. This investment will act as a regional demonstrator of the cost and environmental savings that are possible through installation of the right technologies.”
Jordan became a member of the Bank in 2012 and to date the EBRD has committed US$ 422 million across 22 projects in various sectors of the economy. Through the EBRD’s Small Business Support the Bank has also initiated 95 technical assistance capacity-building projects that directly benefit the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises.
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