April 17 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Wednesday that it considers providing a senior loan of up to 30 million euro ($31.9 million) to Montenegrin state-controlled railway operator Zeljeznicki Prevoz Crne Gore (ZPCG).
The funds will be used to finance the purchase of 4-car Electro-motor unit (EMU) sets to be used for operations across the railway network of Montenegro. The new rolling stock will replace the old, energy inefficient locomotive-hauled train sets currently in operation, the EBRD said in a project summary document.
The EBRD investment is in an exploratory phase, pending approval on June 26.
The project will also contribute to a 53% reduction of CO2 over the evaluation period from 2026 to 2037.
In February, the Montenegrin government said it mandated the transport ministry to take all necessary measures to facilitate the merger of state-controlled rolling stock maintenance firm Odrzavanje Zeljeznickih Voznih Sredstava (OZVS) and ZPCG, aiming to save the former from bankruptcy. The government added it will allocate up to 1.7 million euro of current budget reserves to raise the capital of the two companies and pay for the costs associated with the planned merger.
$ = 0.9401 euro