Heineken Brewery in Belarus Buoyed by EBRD Water Loan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending the Belarus unit of Heineken NV (HEIA), the world’s third-largest brewer, 5 million euros ($6.7 million) to support barley farmers and use water more efficiently in its breweries.

The EBRD said in a statement that the Dutch company would receive funding for the brewery in Bobruisk, southeast of the capital Minsk, to upgrade the brewhouse, add eco-friendly refrigerators and boost high-quality barley production.

The bank is providing 5 million euros in funding for the Belarus operations of Europe’s largest beer producer “mainly to support the company’s efforts to promote the production of high- quality barley by local farmers and make a more efficient use of water and energy in its breweries,” it said yesterday.

Link to EBRD statement: {http://www.ebrd.com/pages/news/press/2013/130123c.shtml}

To contact the reporter on this story: Randall Hackley in London at rhackley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Reed Landberg at landberg@bloomberg.net