The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) under the Ukraine Public Transport Framework project to improve public transport infrastructure signed four loan agreements worth 38 million euros in total with trolleybus utilities of Mariupol, Kryvy Rih, Kharkiv, and Zhytomyr in January-November 2018 against municipal guarantees.
In particular, it signed a 13 million euros agreement with municipally owned Mariupol Tram and Trolleybus Administration in July, while agreements worth at 8 million euros each was signed in September with municipally owned Urban Trolleybus (Kryvy Rih) and municipally owned Trolleybus Depot No. 2 (Kharkiv). Late in November, the EBRD signed an agreement with municipally owned Zhytomyr Tram and Trolleybus Administration to the tune of 9 million euros.
Under the project, the loans are additionally backed by EBRD loans from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) and grants from the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P).
According to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, in the case of Kryvy Rih, the city provided a guarantee for 10 million euros, as the bank gives its municipal enterprise an additional 2 million euros loan from the Clean Technology Fund. CTF loans for Mariupol and Kharkiv also accounted to 2 million euros.
The loans are issued for 12 years with repayment in equal parts every six months after a two-year grace period.
Kryvy Rih’s interest rate on principal debt is set at 5.75 percent and is pegged to the rate of 6-month Euribor rate with the possibility of lowering. It depends on the city’s rating and the borrower’s compliance with the required financial ratios. At the same time, the rate for a CTF loan is only 0.75 percent.
