European Investment Bank loan for Krakow tramways foster clean and green transport
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Krakow bus and tram services operator MPK (Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne SA w Krakowie) have announced today 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 (€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 debt.
Mariusz Szałkowski, Vice-President of MPK in Krakow, said: “The loan agreement with the EIB will allow MPK to pursue it fleet renewal plans. In December, we plan to sign an agreement with the consortium formed by Stadler Polska and Solaris Bus & Coach SA for the purchase of 15 additional new tramways, as part of a framework agreement for 50 trams signed in January this year. Next year, in addition, we will launch the tender for the purchase 40 more tramways.”
“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.
