OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2011. Sberbank and Sodrugestvo have signed a loan agreement today in Svetliy (Kaliningrad Region) setting a new facility for Sodrugestvo Group.

Mr. Alexey Koltchik, vice president of the North-West Branch of Sberbank; Mr. Alexander V. Lutsenko, chairman of the board of Sodrugestvo Group; and Mr. Stephane Frappat, chief executive officer of Sodrugestvo Group participated in the signing ceremony.

The loan will be used to finance the construction of a new port complex and a new soybean crushing plant being developed by Sodrugestvo in Kaliningrad, announced last week. Sberbank will finance USD 300 million of the project which is expected to cost USD 430 million.

"The construction of this terminal and the new crushing facility has great importance for the growth of the agro-industrial sector, not only in the Kaliningrad region, but throughout Russia.  This is why we believe in this project and have decided to participate in its financing," said Alexey Koltchik, vice president, North-West Branch of Sberbank.

"This project is extremely important for our group, and we are extremely pleased Sberbank has decided to support this endowment," said Stephane Frappat, chief executive officer, Sodrugestvo. "We are also very happy that this new facility will give Russia the most sophisticated specialized terminal in Europe to support the export of any kind of agricultural commodity to world markets. Russia is returning to the global agricultural market as a major supplier and our task will be to play a major role in this process. As for our new crushing plant, it will allow us to continue participating in the growth of the sector with the best products in the most competitive conditions."