MOSCOW, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - RUSal said Tuesday it had taken out a 7-year $23-million loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to finance final modernization of Armenia's Armenal foil plant.
Modernization will implement a full production cycle and broaden the range of products the plant produces, said the leading international aluminum and alloy producer, which also acted as guarantor on the loan.
The first stage of the $70-million modernization program began in 2004 and was completed in December 2005. Armenal, a joint venture of RUSal and the Armenian government, is slated to come into full operation in June 2006.
Founded in March 2000 after a merger of major aluminum plants in the former Soviet Union, RUSal exports aluminum to 50 countries, and operates in nine Russian regions and 13 countries. The company holds 75% of the Russian market and 10% of the international market, and bought Armenal in January 2003.
