THE European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved a €300m loan to Ukrainian Railways (UZ) to finance the acquisition of up to 80 electric locomotives. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed during the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Berlin in June.
The loan will be co-financed by a parallel investment grant of up to $US 190m from the United States, administered by the World Bank.
“The sovereign-guaranteed loan will help UZ renew its operating fleet and maintain its operations,” the EBRD says. “The aim is to ensure stable and uninterrupted railway freight operations for agricultural exports and critical imports, as well as passenger services, which are vital for people, the economy and the continued functioning of the private sector, as well as for humanitarian efforts.”
The EBRD says that despite the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine since 2022, UZ has managed to maintain its freight and passenger services. UZ is one of Ukraine's largest employers and contributors to the country’s GDP.
This new loan follows a €200m loan in 2023 to upgrade rail links with the European Union and €150m of emergency liquidity finance to UZ in 2022 to help Ukraine keep its trains running.
