China Eximbank provides $400 million loan for the Pavlodar Aluminum Smelter Construction Project

Project narrative

On May 21, 2010, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan JSC (DBK) entered into a $400 million loan agreement [No. KI216-S/10 (№ КИ216-S/10)] with the Export-Import Bank of China for the Pavlodar Aluminum Smelter Construction Project. The loan carried the following terms: a maturity of 15 years (final maturity date: May 21, 2025), a grace period of 5 years, and an interest rate of 4%. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) provided a repayment guarantee for the loan. Principal and interest were to be repaid semi-annually. DBK used the proceeds of the China Eximbank loan to on-lend to Kazakhstan Aluminum Smelter JSC (KAS) (also known as Kazakhstan Electrolytic Plant JSC), the project company and a subsidiary of ENRC and responsible for the Pavlodar Aluminum Smelter Construction Project. The (principal) amount outstanding under this loan was $324 million as of June 30, 2017 and $152.4 million as of December 31, 2021. The entire project cost $1.0183 billion, and KAS contributed $618.3 million. The Pavlodar Aluminum Smelter Project sought to construct a primary aluminum smelter in Pavlodar with a capacity of 250,000 tons per year. In addition to financing the smelter, the loan was intended to pay for costs incurred during the first and second phases of the electrolysis plant. China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC) was the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor. Construction began in 2014. The project was accepted as complete on December 11, 2015.