Ramstore Project Summary Of Project Information (SPI)       Project Name:    Kazakhstan: Ramstore-Kaz      Region:Central Asia, Middle East and North Africa   Sector:   Project No:009271   Projected Board Date:April 9, 1999   Company Name:Rambutya LLP   Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders    	The project will be sponsored by two Turkish companies, Migros Turk T.A.S. (Migros) and Ram Dis Ticaret A.S. (Ram), and one Kazakhstani company, Butya Holding (Butya). The project will be implemented through the formation of Rambutya.  42% of the new company will be owned by Migros, 28% by Ram, and 30% by Butya.    Project Cost Including Proposed IFC Investment    	USD 31,615,00 of which IFC will provide an "A" loan of USD 11,000,000    Location of Project and Description of Site    	This project involves construction and operation of a hypermarket with an integral shopping mall located in the Samal-2 district of Almaty City on a 2.1 hectare partly developed site.  The facility is partly built and will go into operation in the second quarter of 1999.    Description of Company and Purpose of Project    	Rambutya, a new Kazakhstan limited liability company, will construct and operate large greenfield hypermarkets with integrated shopping malls under the name "Ramstore".  The Ramstore Almaty project will be the first for a major established retailer in Kazakhstan. Rambutyas entry into the market will raise the overall standards of retailing in the country as other chains and competitors work out ways to improve the efficiency of their distribution and sales networks to match them.  Its success should encourage other companies to invest in Kazakhstan as the countrys perceived risk begins to diminish. Its benefits will include the availability of low-cost, high-quality basic foods and consumable products offered by a volume-based enterprise of the kind taken for granted in many parts of the world.  In the long term, since half the product range is expected to be sourced locally, the company will have to work with local suppliers to raise their quality and consistency to meet consumers expectations. It will also provide direct employment to about 200 employees, with a multiple of that number expected to be added in the supply stream and in ancillary activities.     IFCs involvement will assist a strongly viable project with foreign currency needs in a timely fashion, and assist in demonstrating success in the private consumer sector.  It will also enable a competent Part II country client wishing to enter a difficult market.     Environmental Category and Issues    	This is a category B project according to IFC''s environmental review procedure because specific impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria.  The following potential environmental, health and safety impacts of this project were analyzed: site location and land transfer issues, including minor resettlement; air emissions; liquid effluent treatment; solid waste management and fire safety and emergency response.    The  is  from the Public Information Center.       Host country location of environmental documents:    Ramstore Project Site,    Samal-2 District, Almaty, Kazakhstan      Date SPI sent to InfoShop:March 9, 1999   This Summary of Project Information is prepared and distributed to the public in advance of consideration of the proposed transaction by the Corporations Board of Directors.  It is provided for the purpose of enhancing the transparency of IFCs activities and should not be construed as presuming the outcome of IFC Board consideration.    For Additional Information contact:  Corporate Relations Unit -   telephone: (202) 473-7711   facsimile: (202) 974-4384  Environmental documents for this project are available at http://www.ifc.org and from the World Bank InfoShop (http://www.worldbank.org/html/pic/aboutinfo.html).