The European Investment Bank (EIB) is to lend Ukraine EUR 200 million under the Ukraine Early Recovery project and EUR 400 million under the Apex Loan for SMEs & Mid-Caps (Ukraine) project.

The EIB Board of Directors approved the projects on December 16, 2014, while the Ukrainian government endorsed them by its resolutions dated December 19, 2014.

The two projects are to be signed on December 22, the Cabinet press service told Interfax-Ukraine.

The objective of the early recovery phase is to address (i) short-term needs in the affected areas under the control of the Government of Ukraine and (ii) basic infrastructure needs to shelter internally displaced people in other regions of Ukraine, the EIB said.

The objectives of the Apex Loan for SMEs & Mid-Caps (Ukraine) project include financing of small/medium-sized projects carried out by SMEs and Mid-Caps or carried out by eligible promoters of any size provided that the considered projects are in priority fields under the mandate and that financing does not exceed 30% of the overall EIB loan amount.

The EIB also reported that its Board of Directors on December 16, 2014, approved a EUR 400 million loan under the Ukraine Trade Support Facility project.

The Ukraine Higher Education project, which was approved on November 18, 2014, with a EUR 108 million loan is pending the signing. The project concerns the construction and refurbishment of teaching, research and supporting facilities of seven universities in Ukraine: Chernihiv State Technological University, Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute, Kyiv Dragomanov National Pedagogical University, Lviv Polytechnic National University, Poltava National Technical Yuri Kondratiuk University, Sumy State University and Vinnitsa National Technical University. The investments will include the renovation and modernization of research laboratories, acquisition and installation of research equipment, and the rehabilitation of university facilities, with particular focus on energy-efficiency measures.

As was reported, the EIB is to lend EUR 3 billion in financing projects in Ukraine in 2014-2016.