KYIV. Dec 14 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) would provide a EUR 150 million loan for the electrification of 253 km railway line Dolynska-Mykolaiv-Kolosivka, in south Ukraine.
EBRD Senior Adviser Anton Usov told Interfax-Ukraine that the EBRD board made the decision at a meeting on December 13.
The railway line will be connected to the high voltage grid and a second track on single track sections of the line will be installed.
“The project aims to increase the efficiency of the railway operations and the capacity for port hinterland traffic in Odesa region,” the bank said.
The Borrower is Ukrzaliznytsia, a vertically-integrated railway company fully owned by the government of Ukraine.
According to a posting on the bank’s website, the senior loan of up to EUR 150 million consists of tranche 1: up to EUR 124.5 million for the electrification of Dolynska-Mykolaiv railway line (148 km), double tracking of the single-track sections on the line, and construction of a high voltage line; and tranche 2: up to EUR 25.5 million for the electrification of Mykolaiv-Kolosivka railway line (105 km).
The total cost of the project is up to EUR 367.9 million.
As reported, the European Investment Bank (EIB) on November 23, 2016 approved the EUR 150 million loan for the implementation of this project. Ukrzaliznytsia will also use own contribution and grant funding of the technical cooperation assignments.
