Shanxi International Casting Company Summary Of Project Information (SPI)       Project Name:    CHINA: Shanxi International Casting Co. Ltd.      Region:East Asia and Pacific   Sector:   Project No:009340   Projected Board Date:March 15, 1999   Company Name:Shanxi International Casting Co. Ltd.   Technical Partner and/or Major Shareholders    	Shanxi International Casting Co. Ltd. (SICC), established in 1997, is a joint venture (JV) whose major shareholders are (1) Asian Strategic Investment Corporation (ASIMCO), one of the largest automotive component manufacturers in China, through its limited partnership, CACG VII (57%);(2) CITIC Machinery Manufacturing, Inc. (CMMI), the industrial subsidiary of the Chinese financial conglomerate CITIC (22%); and (3) Caterpillar (HK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Caterpillar, Inc. of the U.S., a worldwide leader in earthmoving and construction machinery (21%), which is the technical sponsor of the Project.    Project Cost Including proposed IFC investment    	Total project cost is estimated at US$73 million.  IFC''s proposed investment consists of a loan of US$19 million, and FMO will provide a parallel loan of US$10 million.      Location of project and Description of site    	SICC is located in Jiangxian County, 280 kilometers south of Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province in interior north China.  CMMI''s foundry workshop, which CMMI contributed as its equity investment in SICC, is the Project''s operational site.    Description of Company and Purpose of Project    	The Project is to expand and modernize SICC''s capacity to reach installed capacity of approximately 68,000 tons/year and to produce approximately 40,500 tons/year of ferrous iron castings p.a. for engine heads, blocks and other castings for the automotive and heavy equipment industries.  The Project will contribute to the modernization of the Chinese foundry sector which is currently characterized by small, low-quality operations.  The Project aims to supply the increasing demand of castings by providing high quality products for both the domestic and export markets.  SICC is the largest foreign investment company so far in the interior province of Shanxi, one of the poorest regions in China.  This Project will represent IFCs first investment in Shanxi province, demonstrating IFCs expanded commitment to its strategy of concentrating on the development of China''s interior provinces. The Project is also consistent with IFCs goal to catalyze investments from foreign investors who will transfer world-class technological and management know-how. In addition, the proposed project is essentially a restructuring of the local partner, CMMI, by creating a JV to utilize CMMI''s valuable existing assets more efficiently. Ideally, this Project will serve as a model for other SOEs in the region to follow when developing future restructuring plans.  This project, therefore, falls into Chinas top development priority which is SOE reform.    Environmental Category and Issues    	This is a category B project according to IFC''s environmental review procedure.  Environmental, occupational health and safety issues which were examined during the review of this project included: site contamination from previous activities; air emissions; wastewater handling and treatment; solid and hazardous waste handling; fire safety and emergency response; social and community issues; and general worker health and safety.  Minor site contamination from previous activities is not affecting groundwater and requires no remediation.  An existing wastewater treatment plant will be brought into operation to ensure that liquid effluents are properly treated and meet World Bank Group guidelines.  Air emissions are controlled in the foundry and bag filters and adequate ventilation provided as needed.  SICC will ensure that fuels, lubricants and chemicals are all properly stored and handled.  IFC Technical and Environment Department staff have reviewed the project site and conclude that this project will be implemented and managed to meet World Bank Group environmental, health and safety policies and guidelines and host country requirements.  IFC will monitor project performance during the lifetime of the project.    The  is  from the InfoShop.       Host country location of environmental documents    Jianxian Economic Police Bureau(JianXian),    Jianxian Insurance Office(Erliban),   Development Zone Management Committee(Erliban)       Date SPI sent to InfoShop February 11, 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).