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GREAT NEWS: EBRD Provides Financing for the Construction of High-speed Tramway Network in Poland

GREAT NEWS: EBRD Provides Financing for the Construction of High-speed Tramway Network in Poland
photo: EBRD/EBRD Provides Financing for the Construction of High-speed Tramway Network in Poland
06 / 01 / 2023

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed agreements to support the construction of phase four of the high-speed tramway network in Krakow, Poland, through a public-private partnership (PPP).

The EBRD will provide a loan of 258.5 million Polish zlotych (equivalent to about €54 million) to the special-purpose vehicle (SPV) PPP Solutions Polska 2 Sp, the project company. The SPV is owned by the Turkish engineering firm Gülermak, which has a successful track record in civil infrastructure projects both internationally and in Poland.

The rest of the financing package – around PLN 565.5 million – will be co-financed by the European Investment Bank and a Polish commercial bank.

The new phase of the city’s high-speed tramway network will include a new 4.5 km twin-rail track, a new 900-metre tunnel and an upgrade of associated infrastructure. The new tracks will connect two existing tramlines in the north of the city, thus increasing the system’s capacity and enabling more than 40 additional tram trips per hour (approximately 550 more trips per day).

EBRD Director for Infrastructure in Europe, Susan Goeransson, said: “We are proud to support Krakow’s efforts to make its transport greener. The project, which the city’s population is eagerly anticipating, will make Krakow’s tram network faster and more convenient, encouraging more people to use trams instead of cars. The associated infrastructure will also serve pedestrians and cyclists.”

Kemal Güleryüz, Gülermak’s Chairman, said: “The Krakow tram PPP represents a pioneering project in the evolution of the PPP market in Poland and a significant milestone for Gülermak Group as its first PPP investment. The EBRD brings substantial experience to the project and also guides all stakeholders to prioritise the green economy transition. We are also proud to work with the EBRD on the project.”

The project will be the first PPP for the municipality of Krakow and the first in Poland’s tramway sector.

Gülermak Group will undertake the construction and maintenance works. Attracting private enterprises to public transport and other public services is a way to increase financing opportunities and the efficiency of the required infrastructure, which is particularly relevant because countries need to invest more in decarbonising their economies.

The EBRD has committed over €1 billion to clean transport in Poland, of which half has been in public transport, rail and ports, and half is dedicated to electric-vehicle manufacturing.

To date, the EBRD has invested more than €12 billion in Poland, with a strong focus on green economy transition, which accounted for three-quarters of the Bank’s 2022 investment in the country.

Source: EBRD

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