Madrid, 22nd January 2020.- COFIDES will co-finance the first organic waste treatment plant operated by Sacyr Servicios in Melbourne (Australia). The infrastructure, which came into operation last May, will avoid 65,000 tonnes of CO2 being dumped into the atmosphere each year.

With the start-up of this facility, there will also be an 85% reduction in the emissions that the waste would create at a landfill site, which is the equivalent of taking 13,900 cars off the roads.

COFIDES will provide a co-investment loan for 11 million euros shouldered by FIEX. The total investment that is needed for the finance, engineering, construction, launch and operation of this facility is equal to 42.1 million euros.

This facility is one of the most advanced facilities in the State of Victoria and it will lend its services to a 1.2 million inhabitants across eight municipalities in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The plant has a treatment capacity of up to 120,000 tonnes of waste per year and it will produce 50,000 tonnes of high-quality compost annually.

After signing the agreement, COFIDES’ chairman, José Luis Curbelo highlighted “the fact that sustainability is an element of the global competition for Spanish infrastructure and public service companies, which contribute to a better future for all and to the achievement of the Agenda 2030’s Sustainable Development Goals”.

This project contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 13 (Climate Action). Besides reducing the emission of CO2 and the amount of waste, the project contributes to improving the quality of the land and the crops thanks to the large amount of compost that is generated.

Sacyr Servicios is Grupo Sacyr subsidiary with multiple capacities: from the integral management of the water cycle; municipal, environmental and waste management services; to energy and support services; as well as the maintenance of different types of infrastructures.

COFIDES is a state-owned company which has been offering financial support to Spanish companies investing abroad since 1988. It is accredited with the EU to manage Community budgets, allowing it to structure transactions with a high impact on development. It is also accredited with the UN’s Green Climate Fund and can structure operations on climate change mitigation and adaptation with the GCF. It is the exclusive manager of FIEX and FONPYME funds on behalf of the Secretariat of State for Trade attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and supports AECID in managing FONPRODE funds. Shareholders include Banco Santander, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Sabadell and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America.