La Joie de Hicha SA (IFC-48949)

Countries
  • Tunisia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Akarit
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Sep 30, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
La Joie de Hicha
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Agriculture and Forestry
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 737.10 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 68,1
Converted using 2024-07-31 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 115.82 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 107
Converted using 2024-07-31 exchange rate.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IFC website

Updated in EWS Sep 18, 2024

Disclosed by Bank Jul 31, 2024

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed investment is a package of €68.1 million to support the expansion of La Joie de Hicha S.A (“Hicha”), a subsidiary of Agro Care Projecten B.V. (“ACP” or the “Company”) in Tunisia. IFC would finance the second phase of the Hicha’s two-phase development in Akarit, Tunisia, which includes (i) the construction of glass greenhouses; (ii) a desalination plant; (iii) a combined heat and power system; and (iv) a warehouse. 

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

The proposed investment is a Category A project in accordance with IFC’s 2012 Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. As indicated, the site is located adjacent to a Ramsar site and Key Biodiversity Area (KBA), with some portion of the footprint within those areas. Key risks and potential impacts of this project centre on the construction of the desalinization plant which will require routing intake and return pipes through the Ramsar site and to be laid nearshore, and brine discharge to the Mediterranean Sea during operation. Additional risks and potential impacts, although expected to be on a temporary basis, may be found with respect to the livelihoods of a number of people engaged in fishing activities in the area of influence.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The Project cost is estimated at up to €107 million. IFC’s proposed financing includes an A-loan of up to €39 million and a syndicated loan of up to €29.1 million

Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

Agro Care Beheer B.V. (“ACB”, “Sponsor”), a leading Dutch greenhouse tomato grower founded in 1997, based in Maasdijk, Netherlands. The main shareholders of ACB are NPM Capital N.V., Cornelis van Veen, Andrianus Phlipus J. Van. ACB owns 100% of ACP, which in turn owns ACP owns 88.4% of Hicha directly and indirectly while, Mr. Najib Zerrouk, a Tunisian entrepreneur, ultimately owns the remaining 11.6% in Hicha.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Agro Care Projecten B.V. Parent Company -
- - - - La Joie de Hicha S.A. Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Agro Care Projecten B.V.
Imre Vellenga
Director CSR and Public Affairs
31 619 98 11 55
imre.vellenga@agrocare.nl

www.agrocare.nl

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://disclosures.ifc.org/#/inquiries

If you believe that your request for information from IFC has been unreasonably denied, or that this Policy has been interpreted incorrectly, you can submit a complaint at the link above to IFC's Access to Information Policy Advisor, who reports directly to IFC's Executive Vice President.

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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