Transport projects

Project Summary Documents

Project Summary Documents (PSDs) are disclosed for each project prior to Board consideration. They contain project descriptions, financial details, client information, environmental issues, tender guidelines, and contact details. PSDs for private sector projects are disclosed at least 30 days prior to Board consideration and for state sector projects, at least 60 days.

Project Summary Documents

Signed projects

Board approval is the final stage in the project approval process. After Board approval, the EBRD and the client sign the deal and it becomes legally binding. Signed project lists reflect year-end data.

Signed projects  (0.1Mb) 

Case studies

Improving transport links

With the end of central planning in central and eastern Europe came the end of that famously efficient, virtually free transport system. Suddenly there was no money for new trains or buses and no money to maintain the old ones. Costs soared while service standards plummeted.

In short, there was a gap in the market and private companies were ready to step into it. Véolia Transport, one of Europe’s transport leaders (formerly known as Connex) is now well-established in the area. In Slovenia, for example, it holds majority shares in Certus, one of the country’s leading bus companies, and operates the Ljubljana inter-urban and international train lines (SAP Turbus). Véolia Transport has also been the largest private operator of public transport in the Czech Republic since 2000, with a 21 per cent share of bus services.

Now the EBRD is going to provide €71 million in equity funding to Véolia Transport to help local authorities improve their public transport networks: buses first, but also expanding into trams, metros, trains and ferries. There will be an initial focus on Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, followed by Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro.

“The goal of the partnership between the EBRD and Véolia Transport is to strengthen and accelerate the development of private management of public transport even further in central Europe and increasingly in south-eastern Europe. Private management will assist in attaining better quality and more reliable transport services in the region,” said Stephane Richard, Chief Executive Officer of Véolia.

The idea is people will find their buses and trains more affordable and more efficient – after all, the economy relies on getting people to work. By investing in rural train services, Véolia Transport is also aiming to maintain lines that might otherwise have closed because of maintenance difficulties.

Improving the road system in Kazakhstan

In a country bigger than western Europe but with a population of little more than the Netherlands, roads provide a vital link for Kazakhstan’s dispersed communities. But for Kazakh drivers, tight state budgets in the 1990s have meant that some 65 per cent of the country’s 23,000 km of highways are in poor repair.

In the west of the country near the Caspian coast, road quality will improve dramatically following an EBRD loan of €95 million to the Kazakh Government. The financing, expected to be bolstered by a loan of around €40 million from the Asian Development Bank, will fund the upgrading of a 900km road, improving links between Kazakhstan’s main port of Aktau and the regional centre of Atyrau.

Work on the route started in the 1960s but was never completed and much of the road is currently in poor condition. The new road will improve access to Kazakhstan’s oil-rich western region and the Caspian Sea. With oilfield development vital to the country’s economic growth, the road provides an important route for the transport of equipment and personnel.

 “With EBRD support, this project will play an important part in the upgrading of an important international transport corridor linking Turkmenbashi, Atyrau and Astrakhan, which is vital for the countries of Central Asia and Russia,” said Erik Khamsinovich Sultanov, Chairman of the Kazakh Government’s Roads Committee.

The project will also lead to greater recovery of road costs from drivers, with fees for road use linked to the type of vehicle. This will result in more sustainable financing for the road sector in the future. A grant from the EU’s Tacis programme funded part of the project’s preparation costs.

Russia: Take-off for Russian aircraft makers

Russia has a proud heritage in aerospace technology. During the soviet era, Russian companies were world leaders in the manufacture of both civil and military aircraft. But following the collapse of the Soviet Union, investment in this hi-tech sector fell sharply, leading to a dramatic decline in Russia’s ability to compete in the international aerospace market.

In the EBRD’s first venture in the aircraft manufacturing business, we are helping to revive this sector by providing Sirocco Aerospace Russia with a €36 million loan to finance construction of a new export-oriented version of the Tupolev cargo aircraft, which is currently undergoing European certification. The Rolls-Royce powered aircraft will be built at Aviastar’s advanced assembly facility in the Volga region, which employs some 7,000 people.

The company’s first export contract is to supply five aircraft to two airlines in China, the world’s fastest growing aviation market. The loan will also help to re-establish Russia as an effective, low-cost competitor in the aircraft markets in Africa, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim.

“The Tupolev is a proven aircraft, well-positioned to compete internationally. With EBRD support, we can move more quickly into these new markets,” said Dr Kamel, Chairman of Sirocco Aerospace.

The project is also expected to develop skill levels as Tupolev will benefit from the expertise of Western aircraft companies involved in the supply of parts and the certification process.

New road link to Russia's far east and less traffic for St Petersburg

During the long winter months, people living in remote settlements in Russia’s Far East are completely cut off and can be reached only by air. At the other extremity of this huge country, trucks thundering through the centre of St Petersburg create congestion and pollution. With the EBRD’s help and a 15-year loan of €218 million, two new road projects will transform the quality of life for these distinctly different communities.

Our first loan to the Russian road sector will help build a section of the first-ever East-West road link to the Russian Far East. When completed in 2005, a new two-lane road, covering 2,165 kilometres (between Chita and Khabarovsk) will run parallel to the Trans-Siberian railway and provide the first road connection between Moscow and Vladivostok. As well as opening up this remote region, the road will speed the movement of goods and provide an alternative to rail freight, resulting in increased availability of essential commodities and lower transport costs.

Environmental damage arising from such an enormous construction project is minimised because of strict construction regulations. The project has passed all environmental requirements and was met with overwhelming approval during the public consultation period. Igor Slyunyaev, the head of the Russian Road Administration, Rosavtodor, comments: “The financing of the EBRD is an absolute necessity for us in order to be able to construct the Chita-Khabarovsk road and the St Petersburg bypass. Both roads are a priority for my country and I am very pleased that the EBRD is bringing its expertise to assist us with the construction and the reform of the road sector.”

Construction starts in 2003 on the EBRD-financed section of the St Petersburg eastern bypass, which will take heavy trucks away from the historic city centre. This will reduce noise and pollution, and improve road safety and air quality for St Petersburg residents. Reform of how the road sector is financed is an integral part of the project. The EBRD is providing technical assistance to Rosavtodor to develop a road management system, to improve road safety and to upgrade quality control. This follows on from proposals (developed by consultants and now implemented) to recover some of the costs of road use by charging road users via dedicated taxes.

This project depends on close cooperation between the EBRD and the Russian Ministry of Transport, which will act as a model for future collaboration.

Railways recovery project, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The main railway network in Bosnia and Herzegovina is to be made safer and more reliable with the help of an EBRD investment of €21 million.

The loan will be used to repair an important 395 km stretch of rail track that provides a link to Hungary and Croatia through largely inaccessible terrain. Damage sustained during the war, political divisions and economic disruption have led to a rapid deterioration in Bosnia and Herzegovina's transport infrastructure. In the railway sector, this has resulted in low operating speeds, bottlenecks and concerns about safety.

To tackle this challenge, the railway companies approached the EBRD to finance investments identified in a priority investment plan. EBRD financing will help to support the economic recovery of the rail system and to improve the infrastructure on a key stretch of rail track for international business. It will assist with labour restructuring and strengthening management in the railway sector. In particular, it will help to meet the requirements of a new railway law, introduced in compliance with EU directives.

The EBRD's sovereign loan will finance the purchase of track maintenance machines, the restoration of the signalling system and a programme of labour severance. Parallel financing is being provided by the European Investment Bank. The EBRD has also mobilised grant funding from Canada, Japan and the United States to finance infrastructure work and other improvements.