KYIV. Dec 27 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on December 26 signed an agreement with Electroavtotrans (Ivano-Frankivsk) municipal public transport operator providing a loan of up to EUR 8 million for the acquisition of 35 new low-deck trolleybuses, the rehabilitation and modernization of a trolleybus depot and the extension of the existing electric transport network, the press service of the EBRD has reported.
“The EBRD is extending more resources to support the renewal of rolling stock in municipalities across Ukraine in the context 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 EUR 8 million to Electroavtotrans, the municipal public transport operator in the western Ukrainian municipality of Ivano-Frankivsk,” the bank said.
The loan will be supported by a grant of up to EUR 1 million by the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.
“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,” the bank said.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 12 billion through 369 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
