Announcement of IFC Assists Malawi Agribusiness Nine Million US Dollars Loan for Sugar Project on April 27, 1977

International Finance Corporation 1818 H Street, N.W. • Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A . 202-393-6360 • • •' ,~-...,f'),..l"'"-.U-A"J ~ . ' IFC Press Release No. 77/14 Wedne~day, April 27, 1977 IFC Assists Malawi Agribusiness $9 Million Loan for Sugar Project The International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank, is lending $9 million to help finance a $64.9 million sugar project in Malawi. The loan is being made to Dwangwa Sugar Corporation, a new company which will develop a 13,190-acre sugar estate and construct a 67,000 metric tons-a- year sugar mill in the Dwangwa river delta on the west side of Lake Malawi. The project is being sponsored by the Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation, a Malawi statutory corporation; Press (Holdings) Limited, a private Malawi holding and management company; and Lonrho Sugar Corporation Limited, a subsidiary of Lonrho Limited of the United Kingdom, the technical ~ partner and project manager. These sponsors, together with the German Development Company and the European Investment Bank, are providing approximately $20.9 million in equity for the project. The remainder of the project cost is being met by loans from the Investment and Development Bank of Malawi, the European Invest- ment Bank, the German Development Company, and IFC, and by suppliers' credits. Half of the Company's output will be raw sugar and haJf will be refined sugar, for both the domestic market and export. Sugar cane will be supplied by the estate and by a 1,630-acre irrigated smallholders' project benefiting 326 families. Dwangwa Sugar will be the second sugar estate in Malawi. It will generate estimated net direct foreign exchange earnings of about $7 million a year at full production and make the sugar sector the second largest foreign exchange earner in the country. In addition, it will provide 2,900 full-time jobs and 500 seasonal jobs. IFC took an active role in developing the project, including joint project appraisal with other lending institutions and assistance in financial ~ planning and negotiations. (Any inquiries strictly relating to IFC's participation in this project should . . ,W be directed to the IFC Information Office, 1818 H Street, NW ing t on, DC as h" . ., 20433, Tel. (202) 477-6247).