Abengoa SA and three other companies were approved to receive about 592 million reais ($222 million) in government loans for four sugar and ethanol projects in Brazil.

Abengoa Bioenergia Agroindustria will receive 309.6 million reais for a project capable of producing 64 million liters (16.9 million gallons) of ethanol per crop, Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social, or BNDES, said in an e-mailed statement today.

Biovertis Producao Agricola Ltda. will get 139.3 million reais to produce energy-intensive sugarcane. Raizen Energia SA will get a 4.5 million-real loan for technical improvements to reduce costs at a project, and Cerradinho Bioenergia SA’s 138.8 million reais will go toward buying machinery and research and development.