- EIB and city of Kyiv signed a memorandum of understanding on restoring and modernising the city’s transport infrastructure.
- The memorandum calls for increased investment by EIB Global to promote resilient, sustainable post-war recovery and develop Ukraine’s capital.
- The partnership recognises an urgent need to invest over €450 million to help Kyiv modernise its metro rolling stock and end the city’s previous dependence on Russian supply.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the city of Kyiv signed a memorandum of understanding today to coordinate further cooperation on financing and preparing priority investment projects for Ukraine’s capital, key to its post-war reconstruction.
Signed during the Kyiv Investment Forum 2022 in Brussels, the memorandum provides a framework for further collaboration between the city of Kyiv and the EIB, the bank of the European Union, on projects promoting resilience, growth and sustainability.
The two sides will cooperate to enable much-needed work on the city’s transport infrastructure, including to modernise the rolling stock of Kyiv Metro. The current estimated project value is €450 million, intended to help stop Kyiv’s reliance on Russian metro rolling stock and related spare parts. Currently, 80% of the city’s metro coaches are Russian-made, with more than half of those in need of modernisation, upgrading or replacement.
In addition, Kyiv and EIB Global, the EIB Group’s development branch, will begin preparing a number of other projects of vital importance for the city’s sustainable urban development, such as the extension of the Kyiv Metro at an estimated cost of over €500 million, and the reconstruction of social housing affected by Russian bombings.
EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska, who is in charge of EIB operations in Ukraine, remarked, “Our cooperation with Kyiv City will contribute towards faster post-war reconstruction of the capital, support its sustainable urban development and accelerate Ukraine’s integration into the European Union. As the European Union bank, the EIB will continue to stand with Ukraine and increase investment in the development and post-war recovery of Kyiv and the country as a whole. I would like to thank the city of Kyiv for the opportunity to do even more for Ukrainians. Signing this memorandum builds on years of successful cooperation with Kyiv City and once again underscores the EIB’s unwavering commitment to supporting a free, democratic, independent and prosperous Ukraine.”
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, “Investments are the driving force of city development. Despite this horrific war, we are planning many interesting and promising projects that, firstly, will be profitable as investments. Secondly, they will help us overcome the consequences of the war and build Greater Kyiv, which is innovative, sustainable and successful. I am grateful to the European Investment Bank for its support, trust, and cooperation during this difficult time, and am delighted to see our firmly established cooperation continue. It is my hope that the new memorandum of understanding signed during the Kyiv Investment Forum will unlock important opportunities to rebuild and develop Kyiv with the support of EIB financing. We are very much looking forward to further discussions, especially on transport infrastructure projects: in particular, to modernise the rolling stock of the Kyiv Metro.”
EIB Global support for Kyiv road safety, public transport and municipal infrastructure
The EIB and Kyiv municipality have cooperated on a number of projects, including a €100 million upgrade to the capital’s electric urban transport. Signed in 2021, this was the first sub-sovereign loan by the EIB to a municipality in Ukraine without a state guarantee. Project implementation is scheduled to commence in early 2023.
Prior to the war, the EIB and the Kyiv authorities also worked on several projects under EIB framework loans to modernise the capital’s trams, buses and funicular wagons, overhaul outdoor lighting networks and implement road safety measures in the city.
EIB support for Ukraine
Since the beginning of the illegal full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the EIB Group has disbursed over €1.7 billion of EU financing to the government of Ukraine to meet country’s urgent financial needs and support immediate reconstruction.
Background information
EIB Global is a specialised branch of the EIB Group devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance. Investing outside the European Union in support of EU priorities, EIB Global is designed to foster strong, focused partnerships within Team Europe, alongside fellow development finance institutions and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through its offices around the world.
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