EIB to help modernise Kyiv metro system

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Kyiv's city authorities signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday recognising an urgent need to invest up to 950 million euros ($992 million) in the Ukrainian capital's metro system, which before the war relied highly on Russian equipment and parts.

Eighty percent of Kyiv's metro coaches are Russian-made and more than half of those are in need of modernisation, EIB said in a statement, estimating that it would cost around 450 million euros to modernise the city's metro system.

In addition, both parties agreed on the need of extending Kyiv Metro, whose tunnels have been used as bomb shelters since the start of the war in Ukraine, which would cost an additional 500 million euros.

"Our cooperation with Kyiv City will contribute towards faster post-war reconstruction of the capital, support its sustainable urban development and accelerate Ukraine's integration into the European Union," EIB Vice-President Teresa Czerwinska said.

The agreement was made during the Kyiv Investment Forum in Brussels.

($1 = 0.9575 euros)

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Alex Richardson)