OREANDA-NEWS. December 17, 2008. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is providing a loan facility totalling EUR34.2 million to fund the construction of modern warehousing facilities outside Nizhny Novgorod, an important centre of economic activity and regional transport hub 440 km southeast of Moscow, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The transaction not only underlines the importance the EBRD attaches to building up the vital infrastructure such as modern warehousing which Russia needs to diversify its economy, but also represents a vote of confidence in the future despite the current market turmoil, said the EBRD’s Property Team Director, Sylvia Gansser-Potts.

The shortage of quality warehouse space around Nizhny Novgorod is such that demand for such facilities remains strong despite the increasingly difficult economic climate. The project uses innovative energy efficient and environmentally friendly techniques, delivering energy savings, another key priority both for the Bank and the Russian Federation.

Its construction makes a significant contribution to meeting long-term demand for warehousing and logistics facilities complying with international standards in the Russian regions, something which will allow the project’s clients to decrease their storage costs significantly, Ms. Gansser-Potts added.

The Bank is making available a 10-year senior loan of EUR 30.2 million and an eight-year subordinated loan of EUR 4 million for the project.

The funds will be disbursed in stages and will finance the construction of a class-A industrial park on an 11-hectare greenfield site just next to the M7 motorway on the eastern edge of the city.

The total gross leasable area will be nearly 65,000 square metres, which will be built in two separate phases. Phase 1 of the project is expected to be made available for tenant fit-out in the next few weeks.

The borrower is OOO Kstovo Industrial Park 1, a joint venture between Moscow-based Griffin 2 Capital Business and the Amstar Global Fund I, an affiliate of the Amstar Group, a leading property investment and development firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The developer of the project is Griffin Partners, a full service development and asset management group of companies based in Moscow, Russia.

Jeffrey Rutishauser, CEO of Amstar Global Advisors, said the partners were gratified by the market’s acceptance of this Class A industrial product in Nizhny Novgorod and welcomed the financial support provided by an institution with the international standing of the EBRD.