Apollo gets World Bank support for truck radial plant

WASHINGTON (Dec. 12)—Indian tire maker Apollo Tyres Ltd. has secured International Finance Corp. financing for a $51 million radial truck tire project at Vadodara, Gujarat, and upgrading of existing facilities. IFC, the private sector lending arm of the World Bank, has arranged a $35 million support package for the two-year project; the World Bank unit will put up $20 million of the loan with the remaining $15 million syndicated to other banks, IFC said. The IFC´s support is testament to Apollo´s "pioneering efforts in introducing state-of-the-art radial technology in the truck tire segment," said Onkar Singh Kanwar, chairman of the Indian company. Apollo, which claims to be a leader in India's truck and bus tire market, also plans to increase capacity at its Perambra and Kalamassery plants, near Cochin in Kerala.