OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2011. An environmental audit of the Tobolsk-Polymer construction site has confirmed the compliance of the implemented project with Russian environmental legislation and international standards for environmental protection, in particular the requirements of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Equator Principles.*

In July 2010 the Vnesheconombank granted SIBUR's subsidiary Tobolsk-Polymer long-term loans totalling 1.441 billion dollars for the project to build a complex in Tobolsk for polypropylene production with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes per year. Under the loan agreement, 1.22 billion dollars will be available for a period of 13.5 years under the guarantee of export insurance agencies of European countries in which SIBUR is buying equipment for the new complex. The remaining funds to the amount of 221 million dollars are provided in the form of a line of credit for 9 years.

The audit conducted by the international company ERM Eurasia included monitoring of air emissions, wastewater discharges and waste generation, statistical analysis of accidents at the construction site, and an assessment of management effectiveness at Tobolsk-Polymer and the EPC-contractors in the field of occupational health and safety.

Audits will be conducted twice a year during the construction phase of the enterprise, and once a year during the operational phase.

*The Equator Principles are a set of voluntary guidelines developed and adopted by banks to assess the environmental and social risks in the provision of project financing.