EBRD may give up to 180 mln euro in loan to Ukrainian Railways for small-scale gas-fired generating capacities

MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) may provide Kiev-based Ukrainian Railways with an up to 180-million-euro state-guaranteed loan to fund emergency capital investments in purchasing and mounting equipment for small-scale gas-fired generating capacity with a total capacity of up to 270 MW.

"Under the current crisis conditions, the program of emergency capital investments covering the supply and installation of up to 270 MW of small-scale generation capacity will help the company resolve the problem of power shortages and ensure uninterrupted power supply to the population and enterprises," Ukrainian media quoted a statement on the bank's website as saying.

The small-scale gas-fired power plants are expected to be located at some of Ukrainian Railways' existing facilities across Ukraine, which will help the company resolve power shortages and ensure uninterrupted power supply to households and enterprises, it said.

The total project price is estimated at 248 million euros, it said. The project will be co-funded by a parallel investment grant of up to 10 million pounds (12 million euros) from the UK government to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, which is administered through the Energy Community, and an up to 56-million-euro investment grant from a multilateral or bilateral international donor.

The project has now undergone its final review and is expected to be approved by the board of directors on December 4.

The state-owned Ukrainian Railways is a monopoly provider of rail transportation services in Ukraine, which is operating a nearly 20,000-kilometer railway network and related infrastructure. The company is one of the largest employers in the country with around 200,000 full-time employees, the EBRD said.

Ukrainian Railways' revenue rose 16.4% year-on-year to UAH 78.01 billion in 9M 2024, while the company's net income fell nearly fivefold to UAH 1.66 billion, the YouControl website said.

As reported, the EBRD's Board of Directors is also planning to consider on December 4 a project to provide Ukrainian Railways with a 300-million-euro loan under a state guarantee to upgrade electric locomotives. This funding may be divided into tranches, in particular, the first confirmed for up to 120 million euros and the second for up to 180 million euros, depending on the timeline of the project's implementation.