AnaeCo secures $4m facility from Monadelphous

Engineering company Monadelphous Group has provided its joint venture partner AnaeCo with a $4.6 million loan facility to help fund the remaining cost of the company’s WMRC project in Shenton Park.

The loan facility has been secured by a first ranking charge over AnaeCo’s assets and undertakings, bears a 12 per cent interest rate per annum and is due for repayment by the end of the year.

AnaeCo and Monadelphous are expanding a waste treatment plant in Shenton Park, using AnaeCo’s DiCOM technology, for the Western Metropolitan Regional Council.

“The WMRC project is at an advanced stage of operational and biological ramp-up but has suffered delays due to a series of mechanical equipment and process water storage tank defects,” AnaeCo said in a statement.

“These delays are now almost completely rectified. All up the ramp-up program has suffered approximately six months of delays as a result of these defects.”

The company said while the defective equipment had been mostly rectified at suppliers’ cost, AnaeCo has suffered substantial costs because of the prolongation.

“Throughout the delay period ramp-up has progressed but at a slower pace than planned because at any one time key parts of the plant have been taken offline for removal or re-installation of equipment,” it said.

“With this rectification work now virtually complete the plant is being prepared to commence continuous batch processing in the next few weeks.”

AnaeCo has invested $120 million over 14 years developing an innovative treatment technology.

The technology is being used for the first time in a commercial-scale plant at the plant in Shenton Park, which is owned by funds managed by Palisade Investment Partners.

The plant is contracted to receive 55,000 tonnes of municipal waste each year from the WMRC.

Monadelphous increased its stake in AnaeCo to 15.3 per cent last year, after taking extra shares for services it had provided to the company.

AnaeCo shares closed 25 per cent higher at 0.5 cents per share, while Monadelphous shares closed 1.2 per cent lower at $8.93 per share.