Backing the first wind farm in Georgia
The EBRD is helping to introduce wind power to Georgia with a venture in the central municipality of Gori that will serve as a model for other projects in the renewables sector. Read more…
Energising telecommunications in Greece
A €389 million financing package arranged by the EBRD for OTE, the leading telecommunications operator in Greece, will support the company’s ambitious investment plans, including the development of next-generation networks chiefly targeting regions with relatively low broadband coverage. Read more…
Bolstering the Bulgarian financial sector
In order to boost the resilience of the financial sector in Bulgaria, in 2016 the EBRD extended a €300 million loan to the country’s sole deposit insurer. Read more…
Romanian aerospace industry takes flight
The EBRD provided support for Romania’s aerospace industry by extending a €25 million loan to Universal Alloy Corporation (UAC), which makes aluminium parts for leading aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier. Read more…
Unleashing the potential of Kazakh businesswomen
Providing women with the finance and advice they need in order to grow their businesses is a priority for the EBRD in Kazakhstan. In 2016, the Bank extended the equivalent of €23 million in local currency financing as part of its Women in Business programme in the country. Read more…
Gender equality and green growth in Turkey’s energy sector
The EBRD is spurring efforts to make the Turkish power sector more environmentally friendly and inclusive with a US$ 135 million (€128 million equivalent) loan to subsidiaries of electricity company IC Elektrik. The financing will help power distribution firm TREDAŞ and retail sales firm TREPAŞ to significantly improve the efficiency and reliability of the power network in north-western Turkey. Read more…
Championing small business in Egypt
In order to bolster the private equity industry in Egypt, the Bank invested US$ 20 million (€18.9 million equivalent) in the Ezdehar Egypt Mid-Cap Fund. Read more…
Decommissioning Lithuania’s Soviet-era nuclear power plant
During EU accession negotiations, Lithuania decided to close the two units of its Soviet-era nuclear power plant, Ignalina. However, the country was ill-equipped for the complex decommissioning process ahead. Read more…
Major retail complex to enhance Croatian city’s economy
The historic city of Pula in western Croatia boasts a Roman amphitheatre, beautiful medieval architecture and a stunning location on the Adriatic Sea. Now the municipality is set to further increase its appeal to visitors with the development of a major retail and entertainment centre. Read more…
Understanding barriers to climate investments
Under the Paris Agreement on combating climate change, each signatory country is committed to developing and submitting a comprehensive national action plan – known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – to support the fight against global warming. Read more…
Improving Mongolia’s investment climate
Strengthening the enforcement of court decisions, particularly in relation to debt judgements, is essential for the improvement of the investment climate in many EBRD countries of operations, including Mongolia. Read more…
Improving resolution of non-performing loans in Hungary
Non-performing loans (NPLs) are a millstone around the neck of emerging Europe’s banking system and are preventing the region from reaching its full growth potential. Read more…
Modernising Kazakhstan’s dairy industry
The EBRD is supporting the development of the private agribusiness sector in Kazakhstan with an investment in local dairy producer FoodMaster. Read more…
Clean-up of former Soviet naval base makes progress
Andreeva Bay is an abandoned Soviet naval base on the Kola peninsula in north-western Russia. It contains derelict and contaminated buildings, radioactive waste and 22,000 bundles of spent nuclear fuel rods – known as fuel assemblies – stemming from decommissioned nuclear submarines and icebreakers. Read more…
Addressing the legacy of uranium mining in Central Asia
The EBRD’s latest nuclear safety fund made significant progress in 2016. Framework agreements were signed with the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan that will provide the legal basis for the implementation of projects addressing the legacy of Soviet-era uranium mining and processing in these countries. Read more…
Polish online retailer Allegro steps up momentum
Online marketplace Allegro is a huge success story in Poland, where it ranks as the country’s fifth most visited website and largest non-food online retailer. A measure of the company’s popularity is the more than 13 million views that its Christmas 2016 TV commercial received on YouTube. Read more…
Equipping civil society to monitor public procurement in Ukraine
The EBRD is working to give civil society the tools it needs to effectively monitor Ukraine’s new electronic public procurement system, ProZorro. Read more…
Preparing small business for trade with the EU
In order to bolster economic integration, the EBRD and the EU are preparing firms in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to take full advantage of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) established by the Association Agreements between each of these countries and the EU, the world’s largest market. Read more…
Boosting tyre production in Turkey
The Brisa tyre company is a joint venture between Turkish conglomerate Hacı Ömer Sabancı Holding and Japan’s Bridgestone Corporation, the largest tyre producer in the world. Read more…
Greener, more inclusive public transport in Georgia
The EBRD is helping to bring modern buses to the fast-growing Georgian capital, Tbilisi, as part of the Bank’s Green Cities Framework. Up to 140 new vehicles financed by the EBRD will feature lower floors, making public transport easier for passengers with limited movement, including elderly and disabled people. Read more…
Local currency and capital market development in Armenia
The LC2 Initiative enjoyed a remarkably successful year in Armenia during 2016. A reform project initiated in January contributed to the adoption of new derivatives legislation in October. Read more…
Helping Kazakhstan to go green
Natural gas produces nearly half as much CO2 per unit of energy compared with coal. It is widely considered a bridge fuel that can help countries reduce their carbon emissions while they move from fossil fuels to renewable, carbon-neutral forms of energy. Read more…
Improving Slovak road connections
The EBRD is supporting the construction of new sections of the D4 highway and the R7 expressway in the Slovak Republic with debt facilities of up to €150 million. Read more…
Backing Turkey’s first greenfield infrastructure project bond
The EBRD provided €89 million in standby liquidity facilities to support a €288 million bond for the construction and operation of a state-of-the-art hospital with more than 1,000 beds in the city of Elazığ in eastern Turkey. The project was part of an innovative credit-enhancement mechanism developed jointly with the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). Read more…
Providing sustainable housing for students in Poland
Poland has the sixth-highest number of students in higher education in Europe. The current student housing stock mainly consists of university-owned dormitories and limited private accommodation offered by local individuals and small-scale private investors. Read more…
Raising skill levels in Turkish farming
A €50 million loan to Anadolu Etap will help the Turkish fruit juice and fresh fruit producer expand its business while also raising skill levels in the Turkish farming industry, promoting rural development and fostering gender equality. Read more…
The EBRD and Chernobyl
In the 30th anniversary year of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the arch-shaped steel structure designed to enclose the remains of the power plant’s destroyed reactor 4 reached its final resting place. The achievement was a defining moment in one of the most ambitious projects in engineering history. Read more…
Boosting Ukraine’s grain export sector
Grain exports are a vital source of foreign revenue for Ukraine at a time of ongoing economic uncertainty and the agribusiness sector is important for attracting foreign direct investment to the country. Last year, the EBRD invested in two projects aimed at easing transport bottlenecks in Ukraine’s grain export sector. Read more…