OREANDA-NEWS. April 05, 2011. The EBRD is supporting a Ukrainian wholesale and retail distributor of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and petroleum products, Nadezhda, by providing a USD10 million loan to the company, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

As a result of this transaction Nadezhda will increase the number of its LPG and multi-product stations in order to attract new customers by actively promoting LPG as a cheaper and greener alternative to petrol.

The loan will finance Nadezhda’s investment programme, which includes acquisition, construction and modernisation of LPG and multi-product stations across Ukraine. It will also help to double the capacity of a Nadezhda LPG terminal, which is strategically located near the border of Ukraine and the EU member states.

The project is part of the Bank’s strategy to finance the development and expansion of quality independent retail providers of fuels and increase competition in the sector. Through this project the EBRD supports one of the founders of the Ukrainian LPG Association and has a number of service centres which convert cars engines from petrol to LPG consumption.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the largest financial investor in Ukraine. As of 31 December 2010, the Bank had committed over EBRD6 billion (USD8.3 billion) through 264 projects.