ATOME PLC (AIM:ATOM) has moved a step closer to building its flagship low-carbon fertiliser plant in Paraguay after a major development bank signed off on up to $200 million of debt funding.
The company, which is listed on AIM, said the board of IDB Invest, the private-sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, had approved its share of the financing for the Villeta project, a $630 million facility planned to produce 260,000 tonnes of fertiliser each year.
IDB Invest’s package combines senior debt, blended finance and a reserve facility backed by letters of credit.
The bank has been involved for more than two years, acting as the project’s first mandated lender and helping to coordinate due diligence and deal structuring.
IDB Invest specialises in backing private-sector projects across Latin America and the Caribbean, typically focusing on schemes intended to support long-term economic development. It manages assets of $22 billion across 25 countries.
ATOME said the approval marks another milestone on the road to a final investment decision. It follows a similar green light from the board of the International Finance Corporation, which last month agreed to provide up to $100 million in financing.
According to ATOME, the IDB Invest loan is now subject only to the signing of full project and debt documents and the completion of the required equity funding at financial close.