IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a green financing package of approximately €205 million to Warehouses De Pauw NV (WDP), a Belgian real-estate investment trust, to support the construction of around 1 million sqm of resource-efficient semi-industrial and logistics properties across Romania. The green financing fits within a larger €750 million financing programme and includes green financing from third-party investors mobilized by IFC under its Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program and from international commercial banks.
This is IFC’s first green loan for the property-sector in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region. WDP will implement IFC’s EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) green-buildings certification across its portfolio in Romania. EDGE certification mandates at least 20 percent savings in energy and water in the buildings and in the energy used to produce the building materials. By getting its properties independently certified, WDP will reduce the utility costs for its tenants and enhance its position with them.
Jeroen Biermans, WDP Romania general manager said, “Romania is central to WDP’s strategy. We plan to own and operate a €1 billion portfolio in the country by 2023, equivalent to about 20 percent of WDP’s overall portfolio. IFC’s green loan, combined with its certifying our entire portfolio with EDGE, will allow us to become the largest owner of certified green warehouses in Romania.”
IFC sees the commercial property sector as key in building business infrastructure. This investment will facilitate the growth of the e-commerce, warehousing, and distribution sectors, the business process outsourcing market, and the automotive and retail industries, all of which are important growth drivers for logistics and light industrial spaces in Bucharest and second-tier cities. The investment will also support the construction industry in the country.
“With this large-scale green investment, we are supporting efforts to increase competitiveness and productivity in Romania, contributing to long-term sustainable growth,“ said Wiebke Schloemer, IFC Director for Europe and Central Asia.
To date, IFC has invested over €4.9 billion globally in green buildings. EDGE-certified commercial and residential projects have saved over 225,000 tons of carbon dioxide across the world. Developed by IFC, EDGE helps property developers to build and brand green in a fast, easy, and affordable way. EDGE is supported by free software that encourages solutions to reduce energy, water, and the energy used to make building materials by at least 20 percent, which is the standard for EDGE certification. The program has been generously supported by Austria, Canada, Denmark, ESMAP, EU, Finland, GEF, Hungary, Japan, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
