|
First operation - Bank of Poznan
At its meeting on 25 June 1991, the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved the Bank's first operation.
This operation is a loan of US$ 50 million (equivalent of about ECU 35 million), made to the Bank of Poznan (WBK), for onlending to several heating enterprises and other enterprises with privatisation potential in Poland involved in the production and sale of heat and steam.
The loan, guaranteed by the Republic of Poland, will have a 15 year maturity, including 5 years of grace.
The objectives of the project supported by the loan are to
a) Support implementation of a comprehensive heating sector restructuring programme that would improve the regulatory framework and financial structure of the sector entities;
b) Extend the life of existing assets through rehabilitation and introduction of modern technologies, thereby significantly reducing capital expenditures;
c) Encourage energy conservation in the heating sector through appropriate investments and by supporting energy pricing reform, thereby improving the energy-related convertible currency earnings of Poland;
d) Reduce environmental pollution through investments in energy-efficient equipment and systems as well as by supporting a programme to replace small coal-fired boilers by gas-fired boilers.
This operation involves a parallel co-financing by the World Bank
The first operation of the Bank has thus been approved less than 17 months after the launching of negotiations for the creation of the European Bank.
|
