Rafo sets out to reach 100m-euro operating income upon completion of upgrade programme

Miroslav Dermendjiev, general manager of Rafo Onesti refinery, says every euro of the 330m-euro financing the company wants to secure from banks with state guarantees has a clear destination. Moreover, at the end of the modernisation programme, the company wants 100m-euro operating income, after having operated only in the red in the past ten years.
Rafo representative also maintains the refinery is worth this money because it is the only one in Romania that has no debts.
"The 330m-euro sum we request is destined for each installation of Onesti platform, as stipulated in the modernisation programme. The same will be stipulated in the contract with banks. The project we want to carry out is good, but everybody believes it has a political nature. I understand nothing of politics," Dermendjiev says.
The government last week announced it planned to grant state guarantees worth 330m euros for the loans Rafo Onesti may take out for modernisation. The government's pledge comes as the refinery has not managed to generate profit over the past ten years and it has been closed since 2008. The aid the government is ready to give this company with an unknown shareholder structure is bigger than the one granted for Ford's 320m-euro investments in Craiova.
"In the past ten years we've been working with old equipment in a refinery with high energy costs. Now, we're building a new refinery. The modernisation plan will last two years and in eight years we may be able to repay the sums we receive. We're now working with two banks to contract the loan we need. How can you image a bank is so stupid to give us the money unless we prove we can pay it back? Besides, we'll also need signatures from the European bodies," Dermendjiev added.
"Our situation is similar with that of Ford or Renault, which won't return to the state should they not pay back the sums. How was it possible in their case?" Dermendjiev said.