EIB lends EUR 152 million for Dnipropetrovsk Metro
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support the extension of the existing metro line Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) with EUR 152m over 25 years. The contract was signed today in Luxembourg by the Ukrainian Finance Minister Yurij Kolobov and EIB Vice President László Baranyay.
The signature and implementation of this project is an example of the enhanced cooperation between the Republic of Ukraine and the EU in the run up to the signature of the Association Agreement, which is expected to take place during the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius at the end of November 2013.
The project concerns the extension of the existing metro line in Dnipropetrovsk by four kilometres and the addition of three stations, bringing the metro service to the city centre to serve areas of high urban density and activity. The EIB loan will thus support a key transport infrastructure project for Ukraine with an investment size of EUR 305m in a co-financing structure with EBRD including a comprehensive technical assistance package.
The project’s implementation, expected to be completed by 2018, will have significant positive effects on the urban environment, such as noise reductions and reduced CO2 emissions and will be fully in line with the climate change mitigation policy of the Bank.
Background
The EIB — the European Union’s bank — finances projects in Ukraine on the basis of an EU Council and European Parliament mandate for the countries of the Eastern Neighbourhood (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia) of EUR 3.85 billion for the period 2007–2013. The current mandate provides for the financing of projects of significant interest to both the EU and its Eastern Neighbours, in the areas of local private sector support, social and economic infrastructure and climate change.
The EIB has so far provided loans in Ukraine, including the current loan, totalling some EUR 1.9 billion covering projects in the energy, transport and water sectors, and — indirectly through commercial banks — operations supporting SMEs.
