The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and PJSC Ukrnafta have signed a loan agreement worth 80 million euros. The credit document, aimed at supporting energy infrastructure, was signed in London on December 6, 2024, in the presence of Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Yulia Svyrydenko, and the First Vice President of the EBRD, Jürgen Rigterink.
"The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been a reliable partner of Ukraine for many years. Today's agreement is the first in a large investment package for both public and private companies, approved by the Bank's Board of Directors on December 4. The 80 million euro loan provided to Ukrnafta will help build new modern gas generation capacity, strengthening Ukraine's energy resilience," said Yulia Svyrydenko.
The EBRD loan will also be co-financed by investment grants of 9.5 million euros from the Netherlands and 12.5 million euros from the United States, which will be channeled through the EBRD Special Fund. This will allow Ukrnafta to build additional gas distributed generation capacity.
The financing involves the supply and installation of gas distributed power plants and cogeneration capacity totaling approximately 100 MW in various regions of Ukraine.
"In the face of constant attacks by the Russian Federation on energy facilities, the new capacities will be an important element for meeting current energy needs and ensuring long-term stability," said Serhiy Koretsky, Director of PJSC "Ukrnafta." "The start of cooperation with the EBRD is a milestone for a new phase, a recognition of the entire state management team and the 20,000-strong workforce. It means that Ukrnafta meets the high EBRD requirements for its clients, having undergone deep expertise and compliance. On behalf of the entire company, I am sincerely proud that we have moved to a new level of international cooperation."
The loan agreement between the EBRD and Ukrnafta is the first agreement within the EBRD's investment package for Ukraine, which totals more than 1.3 billion euros. The funds in the package are intended to support the restoration of energy and transport infrastructure, the development of distributed generation, and the strengthening of energy efficiency. The package includes financing for eight projects aimed at supporting both the public and private sectors.
For reference:
The EBRD is currently implementing over 200 projects in Ukraine, worth more than 5 billion euros. Last year, the EBRD provided a record 2.1 billion euros to Ukraine, after 1.7 billion euros in 2022. The EBRD, which is the largest institutional investor in Ukraine, significantly increased its investment volume after Russia's invasion in February 2022, and by October 2023 had exceeded its goal of investing 3 billion euros in Ukraine during 2022-2023.
In 2023, the EBRD's leadership decided to increase the Bank's paid-in capital by 4 billion euros to 34 billion euros to provide further support to Ukraine. Investments in Ukraine during the war are planned to continue at around 1.5 billion euros per year, with the capital increase allowing this amount to be doubled when the time comes for reconstruction.
Between 2022 and 2023, the EBRD also mobilized around 1.6 billion euros in donor funds for Ukraine, including unfunded guarantees. More than 409 million euros of this amount were allocated in 2023 alone. Nearly half of the donor resources were provided by the European Union, with significant contributions from individual donors, including Canada, Norway, Spain, and the Netherlands.
