Focus
EIB supports expansion of more environmentally friendly production of lead and zinc in Bulgaria under the Investment Plan for Europe providing a EUR 65m loan to KCM AD, a Bulgarian producer of lead and zinc.
Тhe investment includes construction of a new lead refining plant and a zinc electrolysis unit, replacing outdated facilities. It will increase the company’s production by 25%, improve environmental performance, increase recycling rates of waste materials and improve working conditions for more than 1 500 employees.
European support can do a lot to push heavy industry to sustainable levels. Backed by the Investment Plan for Europe, our loan will help KCM AD to make better use of natural resources and decrease the energy intensity of its production cycle. Both measures will make the company more competitive, and will secure more than 1 500 jobs in one of Europe’s cohesion regions. This shows that circular economy and climate action go hand in hand with the ambitious social and employment targets of the European Union
The project signed today contributes to some of the Bank’s key objectives, namely Cohesion and Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Efficiency. This is particularly important in the context of our planned transformation to a “green bank.” Also, we must not forget about cohesion, which has been our main objective since 1958. It is exactly this challenge – combining cohesion and climate lending – that we will need to tackle in the coming years.
We hope that more companies in the Bulgarian private sector will follow into KCM’s footsteps and begin implementing much-needed investments related to environmental standards and climate action, with the EIB’s (and Juncker Plan’s) help.
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