EBRD, EU/E5P financed electric buses to arrive in Batumi

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Wednesday, October 21

The main objective of the E5P initiative is to use grants to leverage loans dedicated to municipal energy efficiency and environmental projects.

“The delivery of the buses is linked to a commitment by the Batumi municipality to optimise the city’s public transport and parking system, to allow for the new buses to bring their full environmental benefits,” said Hartzell.

8 electric buses financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the multi-donor E5P fund, of which the EU is the largest contributor, have arrived in Batumi.

Electric buses are to improve the service for the city’s residents and visitors by increasing the reliability, safety and efficiency of public transport while benefiting the environment by reducing emissions. The low-floor buses will facilitate easier access for passengers including those with limited movement, the elderly and disabled, as well as for parents with pushchairs.

“The EU is proud to support the introduction of electric buses to the transport fleet of Batumi. Thanks to a grant provided by the EU via the E5P Fund, passengers in Batumi are the first in the South Caucasus region to experience quiet, non-polluting electric buses. Our long-standing assistance for the modernisation of urban transport is an integral part of the EU’s promotion of sustainable green development, through the reduction of air pollution and emissions of harmful greenhouse gases.” noted EU Ambassador to Georgia, Carl Hartzell.

Catarina Bjorlin Hansen, EBRD Regional Director for Caucasus said: “This is an important milestone, the first ever electric bus project supported by the EBRD in all of its countries of operations. It is a truly inspirational project, which we look forward to replicating elsewhere. This project will help to reduce air pollution while giving local population and visitors cleaner and safer rides. We hope to do more to improve the environment and the lives of the citizens of Georgia.”

The buses are purchased as part of a combined Euro5.5 million sovereign loan from EBRD to Georgia to be on-lent to the City of Batumi for the benefit of the Batumi Autotransport LLC, a municipal bus company and an E5P grant of over GEL4 million (Euro1.5 million) to upgrade Batumi’s existing bus fleet to ensure improved environmental and operational performance.

The project is part of the EBRD’s Green Cities, which is a programme supporting municipal ‘green’ investments, available across all of the Bank’s countries of operations. As part of the project, the EBRD also provided Euro0.8 million in technical cooperation funds to assist the development of a Green City Action Plan for Batumi, the corporate development and stakeholder participation programmes. The Green City Action Plan was developed with assistance of international consultants, and approved by the Batumi City Council on 16 October 2020.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Georgia. Since the start of its operations in the country, the Bank has invested over Euro4.11 billion in 258 projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 80% of these investments in the private sector.

The E5P is a Euro180 million multi-donor fund operating in the Eastern Partnership countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. The European Union is the largest overall contributor to E5P with committed funds of Euro70 million. For E5P in Georgia the EU has pledged Euro10 million which is boosted by additional commitments from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, TaiwanBusiness EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund and the USA. The pledged funds are to help Georgia improve energy efficiency, contributing to energy security and economic competitiveness and policy dialogue, while having a positive impact on the environment.