The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the bus and tram services operator MPK have announced at the COP 24 conference in Katowice a new loan for the municipal company’s renewal of the tramway fleet. The EIB will lend PLN 376m (EUR 86,9m) to MPK for the purchase of up to 90 new, low floor and low energy consumption trams to replace obsolete units and for the modernisation of the existing ones. The terms of the EIB loan mean that MPK can benefit from low financing costs and long maturity of the debt.
“This is the third loan over a decade granted by the EIB to MPK, the Krakow operator of public transport services, for the purchase of new rolling stocks or the upgrade of the existing ones”, said Vazil Hudak, vice-president of the European Investment Bank. “The bank has also co-financed over the same period of time the modernisation of the tramway infrastructure. We believe that the development of an effective urban public transport system is one of the best ways to fight against pollution and tackle the challenges of climate change”.
This is the third and largest direct EIB loan to MPK for the renewal of the rolling stock since the start of cooperation in 2010, bringing the total value of these loans to PLN 618m.
For MPK in Krakow, the financing helps deliver on the company’s plans to completely replace within a few years all tramways with new low floor and energy saving. MPK plans do invest around PLN 1 bn for that purpose.
The EIB sees this loan in the broader context of the bank’s long-standing cooperation with Krakow. It started back in 1998 with the first loan of 45 million denominated in ECU. Since then, the EIB has supported the City and its subsidiaries to improve various elements of the municipal infrastructure, including water and wastewater; district heating; roads, including the Lagiewnicka bypass; thermo-modernization of buildings.
Original source: EIB
Published on 3 December 2018
