EIB supports metro expansion in Ukraine with €152m
Agreement between European Investment Bank and Ukraine's finance minister will see the bank contribute €152 million to extend metro line in Dnipropetrovsk as part of ongoing climate change adaptation projects
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ukraine's finance minister signed an agreement last week that will see the bank contribute €152 million to extend the Dnipropetrovsk metro line in Ukraine over a 25 year period and is part of the EIB's work on climate change adaptation projects.
The project aims to help grow the metro line by 4 kilometers, will add three stations and will bring service to the Dnipropetrovsk city centre (pictured right) and other areas of high density.
The EIB and the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction will pitch in a combined €305 million for the project, set to be completed in 2018.
The loan is one of the signs of increased cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union as the two prepare to sign an association agreement in Vilnius, Lithuania, in November, according to the EIB.
Under the pending agreement, the EU and Ukraine will cooperate on economic development as well as industry-specific projects like energy, transportation and environmental protection. Ukraine and the EU also want to be closer integrated in the realm of consumer protection, education and human rights, according to the agreement.
The pact will include a free trade treaty with the aim of bringing the Ukraine within Europe's regulatory environment while giving it gradually expanding access to European markets, according to the details of the agreement.
The EU and Ukraine have been in formal talks for increased trade cooperation since 2008, according to the European Commission. Both sides have expressed a desire to finalize the association agreement in November at a summit in Vilnius for the Eastern Partnership, an initiative that aims to strengthen economic ties between the EU and several Eastern European countries.
Earlier this month, the European Commission approved a plan to expand Ukraine's gas pipeline as part of a €5.85 billion development of 250 European energy projects between 2014 and 2020.
The bulk of the Ukrainian project will consist of building the 371-km Adamowo-Brody pipeline, which will span JSC Uktransnafta's Brody site in Ukraine and Adamowo Tank Farm in Poland. The goal is to augment the energy infrastructure in a country that's responsible for transmitting most of Russia's natural gas into Europe.
