The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has issued a loan of EUR 2.6 million to Negabarit-Service LLC (Volyn region), one of the leaders of the domestic market for oversized and complex cargo carriage by road, to finance an investment program providing the procurement of up to 42 GPS-equipped tractor trucks and 18 trailers. According to a correspondent of Interfax-Ukraine, the loan agreement was signed in Kyiv on December 20.
The loan will be accompanied by a grant of up to EUR 100,000 under the EU4Business program and a stimulating grant of $452,000 under the EBRD’s FINTECC program launched by the bank in Ukraine in February 2016 to support the introduction of new technologies for climate change mitigation and adaptation to them.
It is assumed that the new trucks will reduce the operating costs of Negabarit-Service by at least 30% due to the reduction of fuel consumption and the cost of maintenance. They will meet environmental standards of at least Euro-6, which will help reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide by 80% and carbon oxide by 22%.
The investment of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in the development of business projects in Ukraine will reach EUR 550 million by the end of 2018, EBRD Deputy Head for Ukraine Marina Petrov has said.
“Taking into account this transaction [a loan to the carrier Negabarit-Service], we will have about EUR 505 million in the deals signed in 2018, and we hope that we should reach EUR 550 million by the end of the year,” she said at a press conference in Kyiv.
Petrov also noted that the EBRD plans to increase investments by 20% if the rate of economic growth is maintained.
“The economic growth that started in Ukraine creates opportunities for new business investments. We hope that in 2019 we will do more business by at least 20%, and if the macroeconomic situation remains stable, we will try to do more,” she said.
According to her, the EBRD continues to consider Ukraine as one of the main countries among its customers.
“We are very positive about the prospects for next year’s projects,” she said.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank each will provide a EUR 18 million loan for the implementation by Rengy Solar B.V. of a project to build three solar power plants in Mykolaiv region, the EBRD press service has said.
The total installed capacity of the stations will be 47 MW.
Rengy Solar B.V. belongs to the Norwegian developer of the solar energy projects Scatec Solar and Rengy Development (Kyiv).
“Both companies have experience in implementing similar projects with the EBRD, but this new project is the first one for Scatec Solar in the market of alternative energy in Ukraine,” the press service notes.
This project is funded by the EBRD under the USELF-III program for financing alternative energy in Ukraine for a total of EUR 250 million.
As reported, earlier Scatec Solar signed an agreement with Rengy Development about joint implementation of projects on construction of solar plants with a total power of 47 MW in Mykolaiv region.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) stops financing projects in the field of solar energy in Ukraine until a more rational method of supporting the development of renewable energy sources is introduced, senior banker of the EBRD’s energy department Olga Yeriomina has said at the Ukrainian Energy Week in Kyiv.
“Now this is the issue of several days when the bank may decide that in future it will not support new projects on renewable energy. We have already decided that we are not taking new projects on electricity, while we have not yet decided on wind energy,” she said.
The banker stressed that the bank is concerned about a lack of significant steps on the part of the parliament to move from the “feed-in” tariff to other, more rational systems of support for the development of renewable energy sources in the country, in particular, to “green” auctions.
“I am afraid that we will not be the last “swallow” to stop supporting projects on renewable energy, unless an immediate planned transition to a more sustainable support system for renewable energy projects begins,” she added.
According to her, the feed-in tariff has already played its role in stimulating the development of renewable energy in the country and is now a burden for the budget, from which the difference between the feed-in tariff and the tariff for energy production by traditional sources is reimbursed.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed Matteo Patrone as Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, according to a report on the EBRD’s website. “Matteo Patrone will be responsible for the bank’s operations and engagement in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The EBRD’s combined investment in the six countries stands at almost EUR 24 billion throughout all sectors of their economies to date,” the report says. “Patrone will work in Kyiv. He is taking over the position from Francis Malige, who was the first Managing Director of the EBRD’s Eastern Europe hub and has recently been appointed Managing Director, Financial Institutions, at the bank’s headquarters in London,” according to the document.
“I am honored and humbled to take on this new position at the EBRD in an exciting region. We have seen impressive progress in all countries under my predecessor and it will be my priority to create the conditions for our strong local teams to build on this and expand further. The needs are huge and our offer is attractive. Our aim will be to continue promoting the competitiveness of the local economies as they are moving closer to Europe,” Patrone said.
“Patrone, an Italian national, joined the EBRD in 2008 in London as a member of the corporate equity team after a successful career in the private sector. He was appointed Director for Serbia in 2012 and Regional Director for Romania and Bulgaria in 2015.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. Since the beginning of its activities in the country in 1993, the bank has undertaken total commitments to provide almost EUR 12.1 billion for about 400 projects.
CAUCASUS, DIRECTOR, EASTERN EUROPE, EBRD, ITALY, MATTEO PATRONE
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is mulling a project to provide a debt funding of EUR 51.9 million to PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia to finance the procurement of workover rigs and a package of energy efficiency investments.
According to a report on the bank’s website, the Board of Directors will discuss the project on December 12, 2018.
According to the document, the loan will benefit from a sovereign guarantee by Ukraine.
Ukrgazvydobuvannia, fully owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, is the country’s largest gas producer, which provides about 75% of the total gas production in the country.
As reported, the EBRD recently defined operational and strategic priorities in Ukraine for the next five years: privatization and improved governance in the public sector, energy security and energy efficiency.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 12.1 billion across some 400 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
