“As one of the pillars of the Polish Investments government programme, BGK is increasingly contributing to the growth of the Polish economy, supporting investment projects of strategic importance to the country and its regions, such as the construction of the Puławy Power Plant. It provides a platform for growth to Polish enterprises, preparing them to finance their projects with less reliance on EU subsidies, which are bound to shrink in the future,” said Wojciech Kowalczyk, Deputy Minister of the State Treasury.
The new power plant is one of Grupa Azoty Group’s key investments and the largest project recently implemented in the Lublin Province. “The Puławy Power Plant will be the best unit of its kind in Poland. With this project, we are catching up with the leading companies investing in power assets,” said Zygmunt Kwiatkowski, Elektrownia Puławy CEO. “The project is to enhance our energy efficiency. The new power plant will be environmentally friendly, generating low emissions and no waste. Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by half, which is in line with the EU climate policy,” Mr Kwiatkowski added.
Today’s agreement is a continuation of the long-term partnership between Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and the Grupa Azoty Group. In April 2015, BGK and a banking syndicate provided financing for an investment programme envisaged in Grupa Azoty’s strategy until 2020. The value of the agreement amounted to PLN 1.5bn (total commitment of the bank syndicate). In Autumn 2014, BGK also granted a PLN 256m term credit facility to Zakłady Azotowe Kędzierzyn S.A., a Grupa Azoty subsidiary. The funds were used to co-finance the construction of a new CHP plant.
In the case of the new investment project in Puławy, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego will be responsible for providing financing on a project finance basis (to the project’s special purpose vehicle). Elektrownia Puławy Sp. z o.o., a wholly owned subsidiary of Grupa Azoty Puławy, will act as the borrower. “We are very glad that the Grupa Azoty Group has trusted us to arrange financing for its new project, which is of key importance to the Polish economy,” said Jacek Szugajew, Vice-President of the Management Board of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego. “The power plant in Puławy will be the 56th industrial project to be financed by BGK under the Polish Investments programme. Our participation in the programme has already exceeded PLN 23bn and is growing,” added Mr Szugajew.
The new gas-fired power plant will generate low emissions and no waste, which is in line with the EU climate policy. The development of gas-fired generation allows to substantially reduce the costs of carbon dioxide emissions. In the wake of advancing liberalisation of the natural gas market, power generation based on natural gas has been increasingly more popular in Europe.
The Polish Investments programme was founded by the Polish government to support investment projects which are of key importance to the country and which contribute to its economic growth. The programme is directed at enterprises and local governments. So far, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Polskie Inwestycje Rozwojowe have provided financing for economically viable infrastructure projects worth over PLN 23bn. Also, BGK has helped small and medium-sized enterprises access investment and working capital loans with the value of PLN 34bn.