European bank lends $17.2M to Turkish chemicals firm

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided a loan of €15 million ($17.2 million) to a Turkish chemicals maker Egesil Kimya.

Egesil Kimya will increase its precipitated silica production, a key component of energy-efficient tyres that reduce carbon emissions, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

The company will use the loan to build a new plant, which will increase the production capacity by 40,000 tons by 2020 in the northernwestern province of Sakarya.

The EBRD has invested almost €11 billion ($12.5 billion) in Turkey -- a top destination for the bank’s finance -- through more than 280 projects with a focus on investment in sustainable energy, improving infrastructure, strengthening the competitiveness of the private sector, deepening capital and local currency markets, and promoting regional and youth inclusion and gender equality.