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The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, will provide a US$10mn loan to Rain Calcining, a petroleum coke plant operator located in Andhra Pradesh, India.
IFC’s financing will support the expansion of the plant’s coke production capacity to 480,000 tonnes per year and modernise its existing production line. The plant has a production capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year and a 52.5MW cogeneration power facility.
IFC’s investment is part of a US$29mn financing package, comprising loans from other international financial institutions, including Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO) and Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), totalling US$19mn.
In 1998, IFC invested in the company’s greenfield operation, which is now recognised as a major supplier of calcined coke to aluminium smelters worldwide. Calcination is a heat treatment petrochemical process which drives moisture and volatile materials from green petroleum coke and changes the crystal structure. Once calcined, petroleum coke is used as the main carbon source for anodes in aluminim smelting.
Rain Calcining has also has been supplying power through its co-generation facility to customers in the state of Andhra Pradesh, which is deficient in power. In addition, the company collects and reuses fly ash, which it distributes to local artisans to help them make bricks for construction purposes, thereby supporting the local community.
Rashad Kaldany, IFC director for oil, gas, mining, and chemicals, notes, “Rain Calcining is an exemplary case for local companies with respect to good practice in the areas of environmental, health, safety, and community development.”
Rain Calcining’s managing director, Jagan Reddy, adds, “We welcome IFC’s partnership in our growth initiatives. After the current expansion, Rain Calcining will become one of the top five global calcining companies. Our investment in facilities, equipment, and personnel gives us an unmatched combination of capacity, growth, and quality, which supports our customers and will contribute to an improvement in stakeholder value.”