VYSHGOROD, Ukraine 10/04/11 (PennWell) — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced it is extending a 200 million euro (US$263.3 million) loan to Ukraine hydro utility UkrHydroEnergo for modernization of 28 turbine-generators at six hydroelectric projects on Ukraine’s Dnieper River.
EBRD said the 15-year sovereign loan is part of a larger project that envisages similar parallel financing from the European Investment Bank. UkrHydroEnergo is performing ongoing hydro project rehabilitation also funded by the World Bank.
The utility plans to extend project life by 30 years with supply and installation of turbines, generators, and dam safety and auxiliary equipment at the six projects: 225-MW Kyiv (or Kiev) pumped-storage, 686-MW Kremenchuk (or Kremenchug), 352-MW Dniprodzerzhinsk (or Dniprodzerzhynsk or Dnieprojerzinsk), 651-MW Dnipro 1, 661-MW Dnipro 2 (or Dnieper or Dnieprovska 1 and 2), and 444-MW Kaniv.
“We believe hydropower generation will play a key role in the Ukrainian power sector stability,” Managing Director Riccardo Puliti of EBRD Energy and Natural Resources said. “… The bank supports this project because it is in line with the EBRD power sector strategy for Ukraine, which focuses on commercialization and efficiency improvement of the transmission network, as well as on the improvement of performance and reduction of carbon footprint of generation facilities.”
Technical cooperation funds for the project were provided by the European Union Neighborhood Investment Facility and the United Kingdom government.
The loan signing brings total EBRD commitments in Ukraine’s power sector to nearly 750 million euros (US$998 million).
