The FINANCIAL — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is extending more resources to support the renewal of rolling stock in municipalities across Ukraine in the context of its Ukraine Public Transport Framework.
The latest project under the facility, which was approved in 2015 and designed to help replace ageing municipal transport infrastructure, is a loan of up to €8 million to Electroavtotrans, the municipal public transport operator in the western Ukrainian municipality of Ivano-Frankivsk, according to EBRD.
The loan, which will be supported by a grant of up to €1 million by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund, will be used for the acquisition of 35 new low-floor trolley buses, the rehabilitation and modernisation of a trolleybus depot and the extension of the existing electric transport network.
The new trolley buses, which will be purchased in 2017 following a transparent procurement process, will be 25 per cent more efficient than the current ones, most of which have reached the stage of full depreciation.
The new fleet will also be more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city in western Ukraine with a population of some 230,000. The city goes back to the 17th century and is traditionally a centre of culture and education with six universities.
This is also a gateway to Ukraine’s most popular mountain resorts, which attract hundreds of thousands visitors every year.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost €12 billion through 369 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
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