It is earmarked for the partial funding of the first private Green Field cement plant in Syria, with a production capacity of 2.75 million tons per year.

Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group, in addition to coordinating with the European Investment Bank, Société de Promotion et de Participation pour la Coopération Economique (PROPARCO) and the Danish export credit agency Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF), led a syndicate of 16 regional banks that consisted of six Lebanese banks (Bank Audi sal - Audi Saradar Group, Banque Libano-Française, BBAC, BLOM, Byblos, and IBL), nine Syrian banks (Arab Bank Syria, Al-Sharq, Audi Syria, Bank of Jordan - Syria, Bank of Syria and Overseas, Banque BEMO Saudi-Fransi, Byblos Bank Syria, Fransabank Syria, and the International Bank for Trade and Finance) and a Jordanian bank (the Housing Bank for Trade and Finance).

Ramzi Saliba, general manager for Corporate Banking at Bank Audi said that this was the largest project financing for a private entity in the Levant region.

The issue was oversubscribed, according to Bassima Harb, head of Syndication and Project Finance at Bank Audi.

Lafarge is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in cement and other sectors. It has 84,000 employees in 79 countries and 2,200 production sites. Lafarge posted sales of €19 billion and a net income of €1.7 billion in 2008.