CTP, the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and BCR announced the closing of a credit facility totalling EUR 75.8 million, of which EUR 36.7 million was granted by EBRD and EUR 39.1 million by BCR.
The loan will support the expansion of CTPark Bucharest West by two new warehouses totalling over 70,000 sqm. The total investment in this expansion phase will reach EUR 108.9 million. With a total planned 600,000 sqm lettable area, CTPark Bucharest West is designed to become the biggest, as well as the fastest growing industrial park in Romania and the region. BCR acted as mandated lead arranger, documentation, facility and security agent.
“We are very pleased to reach this agreement that helps us take another major step towards making CTPark Bucharest West the most important logistics park in Romania, in terms of total surface, but also development pace and standards of quality,” said Ana Dumitrache, Country Head of CTP Romania. “We aim to be a strategic park for the Romanian economy through the support we offer for significant investments, both foreign and local. This loan also represents the first cooperation between CTP and EBRD, alongside our long-term financial partner, BCR (at local level) and Erste Bank (at group level). Moreover, we are confident that this will only be the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between CTP and EBRD.”
Matteo Patrone, EBRD Director, Regional Head for Romania and Bulgaria, said: “We welcome CTP’s drive for green certification, which is not yet standard in the Romanian logistics market. Green leases are also a new feature in the logistics sector in Romania, which will not only benefit the cooperation with tenants but will strengthen CTP’s competitiveness in the market.”
Sergiu Manea, CEO of BCR, commented: “We believe in CTP’s strategic call to develop high-tech business parks for leading international and domestic companies making strategic investments in Central Europe and Romania. In particular, we believe that we can support Romania’s competitive edge in the region by financing strategic projects in logistics infrastructure. We are thankful to CTP for offering the opportunity to be their financial partner in this project.”
CTPark Bucharest West is prominently located 23 kilometres west of Bucharest City Centre, and has direct access to the A1 highway. The total park size to date is about 100 ha, with 244,000 sqm GLA upon finalization of the two warehouses which are under construction.
The industrial park spreads in eight warehouses strategically placed on both sides of the highway. The two newly developed warehouses will incorporate the best available technologies, potentially to be reflected in the environmental certification under an internationally recognized scheme such as LEED or BREEAM.
Since building certification of logistics assets is not yet very common in Romania, this project is expected to demonstrate advanced building sustainability standards. The two warehouses that are currently under construction are expected to become operational in 2017.
CTP, as the long-term owner of its buildings, invests into energy and resource savings while thinking of the environmental impact. CTP invested EUR 3 million to upgrade to new Smart LED technology lighting across its portfolio.
CTP has the largest network of premium industrial parks in Central Europe and predicts a strong future in Romania. CTP plans to beat the development target of 700,000 sqm across Romania ahead of schedule, as it already has over 400,000 sqm under construction, additional to the existing 615,000 sqm GLA.
Thus, CTP plans to reach a total GLA of around 1 million sqm no later than Q1 2018, while the company estimates it will have around 1,250,000 sqm GLA in Romania at the end of 2018.
