OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank CIB is pleased to announce that EuroChem's Usolskiy Potash project finance facility, which was co-arranged by Sberbank CIB, has been recognised as the best chemicals deal in Central and Eastern Europe in 2014 by EMEA Finance.

The magazine's annual Project Finance Awards, which commend the year's most innovative efforts in the region's capital markets, highlighted the loan facility secured for the Usolskiy potash project being developed by EuroChem, a top ten global fertiliser company, as one of their winning transactions for the year.

In September 2014, Sberbank CIB acted as Mandated Lead Arranger on the loan facility with a syndicate of banks for the project financing of EuroChem's Usolskiy potash project. The 8-year facility is structured as a non-recourse US\\$ 750 million project finance facility and has a 3.5-year availability period. The facility is the first financing for the construction of a potash mine in Russia in several decades.

Natalya Ermakova, Head of Industrial Sector Division, Managing Director, Sberbank CIB, commented: "Raising financing for EuroChem's Usolskiy potash project, which is seen as the most advanced greenfield project in the industry, became a landmark deal for the market. EuroChem's financing was achieved through a complex deal structure by which Sberbank CIB was able to illustrate its first-class customer service and market expertise. This deal clearly confirmed the readiness of leading international banks to finance significant projects in Russia."