PROJECT

Projects

Summary of Proposed Investment

Project Number

8008

Company Name

UNIPAKNILE LTD

Date SPI Disclosed

Apr 2, 1997

Country

Egypt, Arab Republic of

Industry

Agribusiness and Forestry

Status

Completed

Sector

Paper Packaging Products (Including Boxes, Cartons, etc.)

Department

Gbl Ind, Manufact, Agribus & Services

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Previous Events

Approved : Jun 30, 1997
Signed : Jan 12, 1998
Invested : Feb 4, 1998

Project Description

Summary Of Project Information (SPI)

Project NameEgypt-Unipak-Nile
     
RegionCentral Asia, Middle East and North Africa
Sector
Project No008008
Projected Board DateMay 31, 1997
Company NameUnipak-Nile
Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders

The project is sponsored and will be fully owned by the Indevco Group, a major Lebanese industrial group established in 1953. The Group is 100% privately owned by the Frem family. It is involved in the paper and plastic sectors and has 23 affiliated companies in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Brazil.

Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment

Total project cost is estimated at about US$19 million. IFC’s proposed investment is a loan of US$4.5 million.

Location of project and Description of site

The project will be located in the “6th of October” industrial city, 45km south of Cairo.

Description of Company and Purpose of Project

The project consists of building a plant to manufacture corrugated boxes, for the local market, with a production capacity of 30,000 tons per year (tpy). In recent years, the packaging industry in Egypt has witnessed a strong growth in line with the overall growth of the Egyptian economy. Current local supply of corrugated boxes does not meet local demand, leading to imports. By setting a manufacturing plant in Egypt, Indevco will achieve large savings in production and transportation costs compared to its present import activities and will allow it to become even more cost competitive in the Egyptian market.

The project will contribute directly to Egypt’s economy through job creation and foreign exchange savings resulting from reduced imports. IFC’s main role would be to provide long-term funding in foreign-exchange to the project. IFC will also play an instrumental role in helping the sponsor mobilize additional funding and complete the financial plan. Finally, IFC helped structure the project’s financing by advising the sponsor to have a more conservative leverage than originally envisaged.

Environmental Category and Issues

This is an environmental category B project according to IFC’s environmental review procedure. Environmental, occupational health, and safety issues include: potential soil and groundwater contamination at the site, adhesives, liquid effluents and workplace air quality. The project will be designed to meet all pertinent Egyptian regulations as well as World Bank guidelines. The limited amount of fresh water, waste water as well as sewage generated by the plant will be handled by the industrial city’s water treatment system which is shared by a number of companies. In addition, the plant will have its own flocculation tank to eliminate material (mainly starch) which might cause clogging in pipes. The new plant will be equipped with modern machinery and equipment which fully meet the highest requirements for working conditions.

The is April 15, 1997 from the Public Information Center.
Date SPI sent to PIC April 2, 1997

For Additional Information contact: Corporate Relations Unit -
telephone: (202) 473-7711
facsimile: (202) 676-0365
Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).

Sponsor / Cost / Location