The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a $500 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).
Taras Melnychuk, representative of the Cabinet in the Verkhovna Rada, said in Telegram on Friday that the relevant decision was made at the government meeting on Friday.
In particular, it was deemed appropriate to attract a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as the fourth additional funding for the project “Support for Public Expenditure to Ensure Sustainable Public Administration in Ukraine” in the amount of $500 million.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the decision to attract a $211 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the Clean Technologies Fund (CTF) for PrJSC Ukrhydroenergo as part of an investment project to improve the sustainability of the integrated power system (IPS) for European integration, providing for the establishment of hybrid power generation systems, the Ministry of Energy has said.
According to the report, the decision, initiated by the Ministry of Energy, was made at a government meeting on Wednesday, although it was not on the agenda and was not discussed during the broadcast.
“To implement the project, loans will be attracted in the amount of $177 million from the IBRD and $34 million from the Clean Technologies Fund,” the ministry said.
According to the ministry, these funds will be channeled, in particular, for the installation of 197 Li ion battery energy storage systems at Ukrhydroenergo facilities, which are planned to be attracted to provide auxiliary services for frequency and power support. In addition, it is planned to install 63.9 MW of photovoltaic plants for the own needs of HPPs and PSPs and for charging the energy storage systems.
“Hybrid power generation plants based on battery storage will allow Ukrhydroenergo to provide the transmission system operator with an additional frequency regulation reserve and expand the regulating range of the automatic frequency recovery reserve required to ensure reliable operation and compliance with the operational safety of the IPS of Ukraine and good quality of electrical energy,” the ministry said.
At the same time, the Ministry of Energy said that highly maneuverable and fast-acting reserves, in terms of their parameters, have no analogues in the IPS of Ukraine.
The terms and conditions of the loans were not disclosed.
At the same time, the Ministry of Energy added that the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft decree of the President of Ukraine on the delegation for negotiating and concluding guarantee agreements with financial institutions.
According to government resolution No. 550 dated June 2, 2021, published on the government portal, loans from the IBRD and CTF will be attracted by Ukrhydroenergo under government guarantees, the payment for which is 0.5% per annum of the selected and outstanding loan amount.
The Cabinet of Ministers at an extraordinary meeting on April 19 approved a project to attract a $ 100 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the Ministry of Finance said.
“Today, on April 19, 2021, the has government adopted a resolution on some issues of the implementation of the joint investment project with the IBRD on additional financing to counter COVID-19 within the framework of access to long-term financing, the Finance Ministry’s website said.
The additional financing project provides for a loan from the IBRD in the amount of $ 100 million to provide export-oriented SMEs with access to long-term financing, the ministry explained.
The Ministry of Finance notes an increase in demand from potential financial institutions participating in the project amid the coronavirus crisis.
At the same time, the government supported the draft presidential decree on the creation of a Ukrainian delegation to participate in negotiations with the IBRD and authorized the chairman of the board of Ukreximbank to sign the guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the IBRD, the Ministry of Finance said.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved raising of a $200 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to improve the higher education system in Ukraine.
“The government adopted an order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on attracting a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the implementation of the project Improving Higher Education for Results in the amount of $200 million,” the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science said.
It is noted that the purpose of the investment project is to create conditions for increasing the efficiency, quality and transparency of higher education in Ukraine, and to support systemic reforms in the social sphere.
The project consists of four interconnected components, and its implementation will take place over five years.
In particular, the first component involves improving approaches to management, financing, quality and transparency in higher education, namely: creating incentives for the implementation of structural reforms, in particular, through the introduction of digital solutions.
The second component involves the formation of partner alliances of higher education institutions to improve efficiency and quality.
The third component provides for the development of ability and improvement of the educational environment. It is planned to finance the procurement of computer and multimedia equipment and software for the organization of distance learning and teaching, modern telecommunications, the development of modern digital infrastructure, the development and launch of electronic learning management systems, and the purchase of laboratory equipment for modern educational and research laboratories.
“The project also includes the implementation of certain educational policies. We are talking about the development of financial autonomy of higher educational institutions, the expansion of the implementation of the formula approach to financing, and the improvement of universities,” the ministry said.
The Cabinet of Ministers intends to attract a $100 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the Eastern Ukraine: Reconnect Recover Revitalize (3R) Project.
In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the composition of the delegation to participate in negotiations with the IBRD.
According to the draft resolution, the loan is planned to be attracted for a period of 27 years with a grace period of 12 years with a floating rate of LIBOR plus a variable spread.
According to the data on the website of the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories, the project envisages investments in the resumption of agriculture through the implementation of private agricultural sub-projects aimed at overcoming the consequences of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation on the territory of Luhansk region controlled by the government of Ukraine.
Ukraine has launched the Accelerating Private Investment in Agriculture program according to the agreement signed last year, according to the website of the Ministry of Finance. “On May 20 this year, after Ukraine had conducted domestic procedures, the loan agreement entered into force,” the ministry said.
The loan amount is $200 million, the Finance Ministry noted.
The program should facilitate the creation of the State Agrarian Register and make it publicly available, conduct an inventory of state property lands and include these statements in the state land cadaster, develop a methodology for drawing up land use plans, conduct satellite mapping of the territory of Ukraine, and create an automated notification system for changes in the state land cadaster.
The agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) was concluded on August 27, 2019.
The IBRD is the main lending institution of the World Bank.
