The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the
International Finance Corporation (IFC) are providing a €215 million
loan to Serbia's largest wind farm, the Cibuk 1 wind farm, the EBRD said
Tuesday.
The 158-megawatt (MW) Cibuk 1 wind farm, at a cost €300
million, is also the largest wind farm in the Western Balkans to date,
the bank said.
According to the statement, the EBRD will provide a
€107.7 million syndicated loan, out of which €55 million is syndicated
to Erste Bank, the Green for Growth Fund, UniCredit and Banca Intesa. In
parallel, the World Bank's IFC is providing €107.7 million, partially
through its Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program and partially through
syndicated B loans.
The wind farm will be built 50 kilometers to
the northeast of the Serbian capital, Belgrade. It will comprise 57 wind
turbines supplied by General Electric and will cover an area of about
40 km2.
The plant is expected to be connected to the grid in the
first half of 2019 and to produce electricity for an estimated 113,000
households, while reducing CO2 emissions by more than 370,000 tonnes.
The
construction of the wind farm will also create 400 jobs in the area and
contribute to improvements in local infrastructure with, for example,
the construction of 50 km of roads.
(Anadolu Agency)