OREANDA-NEWS. May 24, 2012. Braskem Idesa announces that, the Board of Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an organization that belongs to the World Bank Group, approved a loan for the amount of USD  300 million to finance the construction of the largest petrochemical project in progress in the Americas: Braskem Idesa- Etileno XXI. These resources, in conjunction with the amount of USD  300 million already approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in the month of April, will be part of a type "A Loan" in the amount of USD  600 million. To this loan there will be an addition of an amount supported by the IFC and IDB of USD 600 -750 million as a type "B Loan" with the participation of commercial banks which is in its final approval process, and the amount of USD  600 million approved by the Italian credit bureau- SACE. The group of financial institutions shall consist of the development bank of Brazil and Mexico with BNDES, Bancomext and Nacional Financiera (these are in final stages of approval), amongst others.

The loan will be granted to BRASKEM IDESA SAPI, the joint venture formed by the Brazilian Braskem S.A. and the Mexican group IDESA in order to build and operate a plant that will have a capacity of 1 million tons of polyethylene, through an ethane cracker and three polymerization plants (two high density polyethylene and on low density).

Likewise, we inform that on may 17th the project received the Resolving of the Environmental Impact Statement Assessment (EISA) by the Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources of the Mexican Federal Government (SEMARNAT) which complies with all the environmental regulations allowing the start of the civil and electromechanical construction and, later, the operation of the Petrochemical Complex.

With the reception of the Resolving of the EISA and other necessary authorizations, the construction work started on may 18th, ensuring that the Etileno XXI Project continues its course within schedule.

The Etielno XXI Project is located in Nanchital, Veracruz MX. It is expected to generate over 9,000 jobs during the construction and 3,000 direct and indirect jobs once operation begin in 2015. Likewise, the project supports the Mexican government's strategy to boost competitiveness of the sector and the industrial and regional development.

Polyethylene (PE) is a key input in the manufacture of a wide range of products from the following industries: construction, automotive, electronics, homo electronics, agriculture, food and beverage and packaging.