The EBRD is promoting the development of grain logistics in Ukraine by increasing the capacity of the country’s inland waterways and creating associated infrastructure.
A US$ 50 million loan to Nibulon Group, one of Ukraine’s largest grain exporters, will improve logistical solutions, help increase the firm’s volumes of cargo transported on inland waterways by up to 4 million tonnes a year and increase its grain exports by up to 8 million tonnes a year.
The financing will be structured as an A-loan of up to US$ 40 million for the EBRD’s own account and a B-loan of up to US$ 10 million, which will be syndicated to commercial banks.
Nibulon is a long-standing client of the EBRD. The new loan will support Nibulon’s large-scale three-year investment programme, which includes, but is not limited to: the construction of three new river terminals for grain; the expansion of Nibulon’s fleet, including a new floating transhipment crane, tugboats, barges and a self-propelled dredging vessel; and the construction of a 42,000-tonne storage facility, a barge quay and a new railway at the firm’s Mykolaiv terminal.
The project is supported by grant funding provided by the Japan-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.
The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. To date, the Bank has made a cumulative commitment of almost €12.1 billion across some 400 projects since the start of its operations in the country in 1993.