BC was founded in 1995 by the Albanian entrepreneur Mr. Agim Xhelilaj (the sponsor) and his wife who seized the opportunity to invest in apartment and commercial buildings in Albania. BC has a team of approximately ten civil engineers and five site technicians with an average of 15 years of individual experience. An additional 15 employees make up the marketing, finance and administration departments. BC employs approximately 100 people some of which through subcontractors. Through the project, an additional 200 will be employed to sustain the expansion.

The total project cost is estimated at Euro 25 million. The proposed IFC investment is an A loan of Euro 8.5 million for IFC’s own account.

10.59 million (USD)

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	10.59
Equity

* These investment figures are indicative

The project locations are Lundra, outside of Tirana, and Currila, near Durres. The sites are presently unused land earmarked for residential development under the respective county’s urban study plan.

The project will supply quality residential and commercial space and introduce mixed-use centers in the underserved secondary cities of Albania.

The project will provide direct employment to some 200 people in addition to the 100 already employed and create indirect jobs of up to 1,000 through contractors for construction and properties’ management and maintenance

The project will stimulate business infrastructure growth and employment in new and secondary communities that are underdeveloped relative to Tirana.

The project will also create more demand from local suppliers for construction materials and maintenance services.

IFC has been helping BC since early 2006 with its expansion and diversification strategy to include the new function of property (asset) management services with a focus on mixed-use developments, particularly in suburban and secondary strategic cities.

IFC is also informally advising BC on its capital expenditure and financing schedule for the next three years to ensure adequate asset-liabilities matching, debt service and monitored expansion.

BC is a category B project according to IFC''s environmental and social review procedure. A summary of IFC’s environmental and social review findings for the project including the rationale for the B categorization will shortly be (is) publicly available in the Environmental and Social Review Summary (ESRS) on IFC’s website: http://www.ifc.org/projects. The Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), which is attached to the ESRS, contains specific tasks that the client will undertake to mitigate perceived risks and impacts from the project, and to ensure compliance with IFC’s Performance Standards.

The main EHS aspects of the proposed projects are: land acquisitions, licensing and permitting, environmental engineering and safety engineering principles during the sitting and construction phase, health and safety during the construction phase and during the utilization, pollution prevention and abatement, community engagements and an overall EHS management system for both developments, Lundra and Curilla.