Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk signed financial and guarantee agreements on raising sovereign loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) EUR 160 million each on behalf of Ukraine on Monday in the Presidential Administration in the presence of the Ukrainian president.
The Finance Ministry said that EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Francis Malige and EIB Director for Public Sector in Eastern Neighbourhood Lionel Rapaille represented the banks.
Head of Kharkiv Regional Administration Yulia Svitlychna who was present at the signing ceremony said that another EUR 10 million would be provided from the Kharkiv’s budget.
“The project would allow building two subway stations towards the airport, a new electric depot and buy new rolling stock – 85 wagons,” she said, thanking for support of the region and trust to its authorities.
“Our objective is to support the development of clean, efficient and modern urban transport in Ukraine. The Kharkiv metro project is a perfect fit for this strategy. By promoting sustainable and clean urban transport as an attractive alternative to car travel, we are bringing a range of environmental and economic benefits as well as saving travel time and reducing carbon emissions,” Malige said.
Svitlychna said that the implementation of the project would start after signing of the relevant agreement with Kharkiv Metropoliten municipal enterprise and the city council.
The EBRD told Interfax-Ukraine that the signing of the loan agreement is scheduled for December 18 in Kharkiv.
A feasibility study for the project was supported by grant funding provided by the government of Japan.
As reported, the project provides for the extension of the “green” metro line in Kharkiv by 3.47 km towards the airport, the construction of two metro stations Derzhavynska and Odeska, the construction of depots and the purchase of 85 rolling stock units. It is assumed that both stations and the section from the existing tunnels to the Derzhavynska station (959 meters) will be built in an “open way,” while the tunnels between the new stations (2,514 meters) will be built with the help of a tunneling complex.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost EUR 11.6 billion through 383 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.
