Ammonia Plant in Trinidad built and financed by German Enterprises commences Operation

On Wednesday, October 27, a new ammonia plant built in Trinidad by the Essen-based MAN Ferrostaal AG and financed by KfW IPEX-Bank together with other german banks was inaugurated by the Trinidadian Prime Minister Patrick Manning. In addition to KfW IPEX-Bank Helaba, Dresdner Bank, Nord LB and LB Rheinland-Pfalz also took part in the financing.

The expected investment cost of the plant is approximately USD 320 million and it will produce 640,000 tons of ammonia annually. The project company N2000 is owned by MAN Ferrostaal AG, the US companies Koch Industries Inc., Halliburton and EOG, and also CL Financial Ltd., which belongs to the Trinidadian insurance group CLICO.

The plant is situated in the Point Lisas industrial zone where MAN Ferrostaal AG has already successfully constructed several large petrochemical plants with financing provided byKfW IPEX-Bank. In all of these projects, the World Bank´s environmental standards were applied.

Ammonia, which is produced in the first step of nitrogen fertilizer production, is made from natural gas extracted before the coast of Trinidad. Nitrogen fertilizers are the main type of fertilizer and are extremely important for agriculture worldwide.

Owing to its natural gas deposits, its investor-friendly environment and its proximity to the target market USA, Trinidad offers ideal conditions for building up a petrochemical industry. These factors make Trinidad a global player in international ammonia production.

For KfW Bankengruppe (KfW banking group) KfW IPEX-Bank provides project and corporate finance within and outside of Germany and also offers export finance. With its financing offers KfW IPEX Bank is active in the sectors of raw materials, the manufacturing industry, commerce and health, energy and the environment, telecommunications and new media, ships, aircraft, rail and road transport, airports and seaports and the construction industry. It has been run as a legally dependent bank within KfW Bankengruppe since January 1, 2004 and, starting on January 1, 2008, it will be spun off into a legally independent member of the Group. In the first half of 2004 alone the new commitments entered into by KfW IPEX-Bank totalled approx. EUR 4.9 billion.