The Ukrainian parliament has ratified agreements with the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on provision of more than EUR 327 million in loans for financing programs for electrification of railway and improvement of road safety.
The Ukrainian parliament adopted the relevant decisions on December 19, the Nikvesti publication reports, citing the Ministry of Infrastructure.
In particular, the parliament approved a loan agreement for electrification of the railway lines between the Dolynska, Mykolaiv, and Kolosivka railway stations. The European institutions have allocated EUR 150 million for these purposes.
The parliament also approved loan agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank on provision of EUR 177 million (out of which local authorities should allocate EUR 27 million) in loans for financing a project for improving road safety in Ukrainian cities. This project will be implemented in Odesa, Lviv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Kamianets-Podilskyi, among other cities.
"The project will include improvement of the infrastructure at road intersections, improvement of infrastructure for cyclists and public transport, upgrade of facilities to reduce speeding in settlements and near schools, and so on," the Ministry of Infrastructure said.
“The agreements, which were signed a few years ago, remained on paper and were not implemented. Much could have been done in terms of electrification and safety in cities during this lost period. Funds were available and there were projects. Our partners, are ready to continue financing such projects with the EIB and the EBRD, but only if we implement them and not keep them in the parliament for years," Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklyi said.
During the presentation of his action plan for the next five years, Kryklyi said that he intended to ensure electrification of 110 kilometers of railways during this period.
