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European Bank lends ECU 44 million to Slovak Telecommunications
A loan agreement for ECU 44 million was signed today between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Slovak Telecommunications for a project to modernise and expand telecommunications in the Slovak Republic. The loan is guaranteed by the Slovak Republic.
Jacques Attali, President of the European Bank, said: "The project will serve as a catalyst for economic development and reform, improving access of all businesses to market and supplier information in overseas markets. Approximately 200,000 new subscribers will have access to fully-featured telecommunications services for the first time and about 414,000 existing subscribers will see the quality of service improve substantially."
Physical investments will include installation of a combined local, transit and international exchange in Bratislava, a nation-wide optical fibre backbone system as part of the digital overlay network, fibre optic routes from the international gateway in Bratislava to neighbouring countries, and digital local exchanges, as well as subscriber line plants comprising copper cable as well as local optical cables.
The project also includes an institutional development programme aimed at assisting Slovak Telecommunications in the restructuring process, which will involve introduction of competition and reduction of the basic telephone monopoly, the corporatisation and partial privatisation of Slovak Telecommunications, and the transfer from analogue to digital systems and the introduction of modern technology.
The total cost of the project is estimated at about ECU 227 million, which will be financed by the European Bank (ECU 44 million), export credits (ECU 61 million) and Slovak Telecommunications (ECU 122 million).
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