The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €16 million loan to Cherkasy to finance the purchase of modern trolleybuses and the modernization of the relevant infrastructure, according to a statement on the EBRD website.
The loan, fully guaranteed by the city, will be co-financed by an investment grant of up to EUR4 million from the EBRD’s Shareholders’ Special Fund and will have partial first-loss risk coverage under the EU Investment Program for Municipal Infrastructure and Industrial Resilience (UIF MIIR).
The EBRD notes that the financing will enable Cherkasyelektrotrans to expand its fleet with new low-floor trolleybuses, modernize its depot and other infrastructure, and expand and redistribute three trolleybus routes.
According to information on the Cherkasy City Council website, the project involves attracting EBRD loan funds for the purchase of trolleybuses with a range of up to 20 km.
“Cherkasy has been preparing to implement this project for almost 10 years. Due to previous debt obligations, the city was unable to obtain a loan for a long time, but after a positive conclusion from the Ministry of Finance, active work on the final decisions was carried out over two years. Currently, all key approvals have been obtained,” said Cherkasy Mayor Anatoliy Bondarenko.
Thanks to the project, Cherkasy will be able to renew up to 90% of the rolling stock of the Cherkasyelektrotrans municipal enterprise.
As reported, the rolling stock of Cherkasyelektrotrans currently includes 12-meter Bogdan trolleybuses manufactured in 2015, Belarusian BKM trolleybuses manufactured in 2012, LAZ trolleybuses manufactured in 2006 and 2008, one articulated Aviant-Kyiv trolleybus manufactured in 1997, as well as ZiU trolleybuses manufactured in the 1980s and 1990s.
Last year, local authorities announced that they wanted to purchase approximately 45 trolleybuses with EBRD loan funds. Currently, the plan is to purchase up to 44 vehicles.
