VEB calls on Ammoni to repay a huge debt

On March 26, the Arbitration Court of Tatarstan scheduled a session regarding a lawsuit brought up by Vnesheconombank (VEB) against the Ammoni plant (Mendeleevsk).

Last year, VEB took Ammoni to court to declare it bankrupt and introduced a monitoring procedure at the plant.

Ammoni started to work in 2015. The cost of its construction amounted to 2.15 billion dollars. The major amount for its establishment, 1.8 billion dollars, was loaned by VEB. Due to the devaluation of the ruble and the decline in nitrogen fertilizer prices relative to the parameters stipulated in the project, the plant is operating at a loss and cannot service the debt.

VEB, the largest creditor and owner of a 22.8% stake in the enterprise, started attracting investors to Ammoni. The process was launched last spring. The selection was organized by Gazprombank. The two companies that qualified to enter the final selection stage were SDS Azot and Lukoil.

The capacity of Ammoni is 717.5 thousand tons of ammonia and the same amount of urea, as well as 380 thousand tons of ammonium nitrate per year.