JSW concluded the first agreement with a consortium of several institutions. The consortium consists of: Agencja Rozwoju Przemysłu SA, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Bank Polska Kasa Opieki SA, Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności Bank Polski SA and ICBC (Europe) SA Branch in Poland. The financing includes a revolving credit facility in the amount of PLN 360 million, a term loan of PLN 100 million and a term loan in the US dollar equivalent of PLN 300 million. The financing is guaranteed by JSW KOKS SA, a JSW Group company, while the maximum term of financing was set at 7 years.
- For Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa, this money is needed to finance key investments undertaken by the Group, including the purchase of a majority stake in Przedsiębiorstwo Budowy Szybów SA – says Daniel Ozon, President of the JSW Management Board. - The strategy of the Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa Group until 2030 assumes investments in the Group at the level of roughly PLN 19 billion. These are investments that will ensure JSW’s continuing growth, increased production of coking coal and coke and development of modern technologies. The investments will ensure fulfillment of the strategy, which assumes a gradual increase in coal production to more than 18 million tons in 2030.
The second financing agreement concluded between JSW SA, JSW KOKS SA and the European Investment Bank is equally as important. Its amount is EUR 58.5 million, which is approximately PLN 250 million, in the form of a term loan. The loan will be granted for the term of 8 years by the EIB, with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments as part of the so-called Juncker Plan. Its purpose is to extend guarantees for the financing of projects that are needed by the economy or society, implemented primarily by the private sector and in some areas of the economy by the public sector.
– We are one of the leaders in the usage of funds from the Juncker Plan. Poland is currently ranked 5th in the EU in terms of the value of support approved by the EIB. France, Italy, Spain and Germany are still ahead of us – emphasized Małgorzata Zielińska, Deputy Minister of Investment and Development, who is responsible for coordinating investment projects financed by the Juncker Plan on behalf of the Ministry.
JSW intends to use the money from the EIB loan to modernize its coking plants and to invest into the production of energy from coke oven gas and methane drained from the Company’s mines. These installations will contribute to curtailing emissions, including greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing resource and energy efficiency, as well as energy self-sufficiency.
– With these funds, JSW will be able to build cogeneration infrastructure, which allows the production of larger quantities of electricity and heat based on methane from methane drainage of coal seams. On the other hand, this is the way JSW KOKS raises funds for the modernization of coke oven battery no. 4 at the Przyjaźń Coking Plant in Dąbrowa Górnicza, which will restore its production capacity based on the most recent technologies. This is also about the third stage of modernization of the Radlin Coking Plant and construction of a power unit in that plant, which will also involve the utilization of coke oven gas through its effective combustion and generation of electrical energy and heat - said Iwona Gajdzik-Szot, the JSW KOKS SA Management Board Member for Financial Matters.
The intended environmental effect is also important. The projects will make it possible to purify coke oven gas to ensure that its further use has the least possible impact on the environment and reduces emissions. It includes, among others, construction of a gas desulfurization installation at the Jadwiga Coking Plant in Zabrze.