The European Investment Bank (EIB) agreed with the Ukrainian Government on a series of new financing operations, in particular, the sides signed an agreement on lending EUR 50 million to finance transport infrastructure improvements throughout the country and a grant of EUR 10 million to finance the implementation of the Ukraine Higher Education Project, the bank has said in a press release. “The projects signed today will result in faster and safer transport infrastructure, better academic facilities and more resources for higher education programmes, all of which will strengthen the country’s competitiveness,” the press service of the bank reported, citing EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák.
The EUR 50 million EIB loan to improve connectivity in Ukraine and in the Eastern Neighbourhood provides support for transport projects expected to have significant positive local impacts. Road safety, connectivity, and traffic management and control projects are under consideration, with a view to contributing to the economic development of Ukraine.
The project’s first phase will focus on the development of intelligent transport system on national roads, the construction of a missing section of the northern by-pass around the city of Ternopil forming part of the extended TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Networks), and a number of multi-level railway crossings.
Furthermore, the project will support the development of future investment in railway connections between the European Union and Ukraine.
“The project is backed by a EUR 14 million EU grant for the Ternopil bypass investment and a EUR 1.85 million EU grant for project preparation and implementation. Both grants are being provided under the Neighbourhood Investment Platform (NIP),” the bank said.
Ukraine and the EIB also signed the EUR 10 million grant agreement under the multi-donor E5P fund that supports municipal investments in energy-efficiency and environmental projects in the Eastern Partnership countries.
“The grant will help finance the implementation of a Ukraine Higher Education Project, which the EIB is already supporting. Furthermore, the EIB concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science for the preparation of a project to create several centres of excellence in the country,” the bank said.
The Ukraine Higher Education Project has already received a EUR 120 million loan from the EIB and EUR 30 million from Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), the EIB said.
The grant will be used to finance, in particular, seven universities in the cities of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Sumy and Vinnitsa in order to significantly reduce the energy consumption of their buildings with positive environmental impacts.
The project is also supported by a EUR 3 million EU grant from the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) to assist implementation arrangements, the bank said.
According to the report, the agreements were signed at the EU-Ukraine Association Council meeting held in Brussels on Monday.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a EUR 50 million credit line to help Ukraine’s railway and road authorities, Ukrzaliznytsia and Ukravtodor, eliminate bottlenecks in European transport networks. As the bank announced, its board of directors approved the project on September 19, 2018. It covers projects for small transport infrastructure worth up to EUR 20 million.
Loans are to be used to improve interaction within the framework of the Eastern Neighborhood and provide substantial support for small-scale but locally significant projects. It is also expected that such financing will improve traffic safety.
The EIB document states that the total cost of this framework project is approximately EUR 110 million, but other sources of co-financing are not specified.
Ukraine and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on the margins of the Ukraine-EU summit in Brussels on Monday signed an agreement on the allocation of a EUR 75 million loan for the implementation of the project on improving road safety in Ukrainian cities. “The EIB allocates EUR 75 million, which will be received by five largest cities in Ukraine – Dnipro, Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv,” the press service of Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze reported.
The EIB said in a press release due to the signing of the agreement that in addition to the loan, an EU grant of EUR 4.25 million will be provided as part of the so-called Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF), allocated for the preparation of the project, development and monitoring.
The executor of the project is the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry, and the recipients of financial assistance from the EIB are the authorities of these cities. Investment will be directed to eliminate the most dangerous sections by creating better interchanges and modern transport systems, as well as improving intersections and updating the road infrastructure, the bank said.
According to the bank, other changes planned within the project will include the development of a network of safe bike and pedestrian paths, urban transport planning system, introduction of speed limits in residential areas and school areas, and the introduction of an IT-based traffic management system.
