The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Odessa municipal enterprise Odesmiskelektrotrans have signed a loan agreement for a EUR 8 m loan for 12 years to upgrade trolleybuses which will be provided under municipal guarantees, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported.
According to EBRD Senior Adviser for External Affairs Anton Usov, Odessa became the first Ukrainian municipality to secure a 12-year municipally guaranteed loan worth EUR 8 m for a local transport operator (Odesmiskelektrotrans).
The loan funds will be used for the acquisition of 45 new trolleybuses, which will replace almost half of the existing fleet in the city. Procurement under the project will be implemented in strict accordance with the bank's procurement policies and rules, the efficiency of which has been successfully tested for over 20 years in the context of EBRD-funded public sector deals in Ukraine.
Also EBRD bank intends to give help in providing Odessa with free technical assistance for public transport reforms.
