OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank CIB organized financing for Cherkizovo Group's major investment project Voronezh-Lipetsk pig breeding facility with a total cost of RUB 19.2 bln. The loan amounts to RUB 14.4 bln for a period of up to 12 years.

The project plans for the construction of new pig farms in the Voronezh and Lipetsk Regions for 46,000 sows and the capacity to process 145,000 tons of live weight annually. The project will allow Cherkizovo Group to increase its current capacity to raise pigs by 70% up to 330,000 tons per year (live weight), increase its leadership position as the largest producer of meat products in Russia and increase overall meat production to more than 1 million tons per year.

The project will consist of four stages. The first stage – the construction of a pig-breeding unit in the Semiluksky District of the Voronezh Region - has already begun. Its capacity will be 36,500 tons per year and the first feeding site will be put into operation at the end of 2015. The new pig breeding facilities will meet the highest global standards. Cherkizovo Group is already completing construction of the compound feed mill in the Semiluksky District with a capacity of 500,000 tons per year, which will secure future production of high-quality animal feed. In June, Cherkizovo Group commissioned a modern facility for slaughtering and processing pigs in the city Dankov (Lipetsk Region), which completes the production chain of the cluster.

The General Director of Cherkizovo Group, Sergei Mikhailov, said: "We are pleased that our long-term partners from Sberbank have supported the import substitution initiative and made the decision to finance our project. All of the pig farms will be built in accordance with modern requirements for veterinary safety, and the introduction of international best practices at our new facilities will allow us to achieve high levels of operational efficiency and the lowest operational cost in the country. The pig breeding segment has shown very good financial results and we are confident and optimistic about the future."

Senior Managing Director, Deputy Head, Client Management Department, Sberbank CIB, Kirill Polishkin, commented: "Sberbank and Cherkizovo Group have cooperated successfully for many years and we value Cherkizovo's experience and expertise, which has allowed the company to demonstrate consistent production and financial results. Financing for the new investment project is another positive step for the development of relations between our organizations, which will allow both parties to realise their goals in the short term as well as to strengthen our market positions."

This is not the first project that Cherkizovo has realised with the support of Sberbank. In 2014 the Group received RUB 5.5 bln to realise a major investment project for the processing of turkey meat in the Tambov Region, which is an international project in partnership with Grupo Fuertes, a Spanish company. The construction of "Tambov Turkey" is practically complete. Products processed at the facility will be available in stores in the beginning of 2016.