GGF lends 20 mln euro to UniCredit Bank Serbia for renewable energy projects

BELGRADE (Serbia), May 16 (SeeNews) – The Green for Growth Fund (GGF) said on Tuesday it has extended a 20 million euro ($22.1 million) loan to UniCredit Bank Serbia to finance renewable energy projects in the country.

“Through long-term financing under very competitive conditions, this GGF loan will enable UniCredit Bank to reconfirm its position as one of the leading actors in renewable energy financing and at the same time enhance improvement of this sector, which is still in its infancy in Serbia,” the GGF said in a press release.

In addition to the loan, the GGF will provide support to UniCredit Bank through the technical verification and monitoring of projects.

“This new partnership with UniCredit Bank offers the GGF the chance to help build and strengthen Serbia’s renewable energy sector with long-term, competitive financing, which supports the fund’s overall mission to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in the markets it serves,” the GGF chairman Christopher Knowles said in the statement.

Renewable energy projects financed by the GGF loan are expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 47,000 metric tonnes, the GGF said.

“We are proud that the GGF recognised us as a partner that is ready to contribute to the further development of the renewable energy sector in Serbia through additional investments in this segment. Our strong experience and our capability to monitor complex transactions and to adjust financing to specific requirements of our clients will definitely allow us to support both existing and new clients via this loan,” Enrico Verdoscia, a member of UniCredit Bank Serbia’s Management Board in charge of Corporate and Investment Banking, stated.

The GGF was initiated as a public-private partnership in December 2009 by Germany’s KfW Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. It invests in measures designed to cut energy use and CO2 emissions by a minimum of 20% in the 19 countries, which it covers, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

($ = 0.904636 euro)

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