26 Jun 2013

NIB finances railway infrastructure in Lithuania

NIB and the Lithuanian railway company AB Lietuvos gelezinkeliai have signed a 19-year-maturity EUR 114 million loan agreement for the construction of a European-gauge track as part of the future Rail Baltica route, as well as for modernising parts of the Trans European East-West corridors in Lithuania.

The loan financing is earmarked for the construction of a 115-kilometre European-gauge (1,435 mm) railroad track from the Lithuanian-Polish border to the city of Kaunas. The European-gauge track will be built parallel to the existing wider-gauge (1,520 mm) line. The project also includes the reconstruction of a 60-kilometre wider-gauge track from the city of Šiauliai to the Lithuanian-Latvian border. Both the newly built and the reconstructed lines will allow train services to run at up to 120 kilometres per hour.

As part of the future Rail Baltica route, this will be the first European-gauge track built in the Baltic countries to open a direct connection with the railroad network of Poland and potentially to continue passenger and freight transportation to other European Union countries.

The NIB-financed investment programme also includes upgrades to parts of the Trans European East-West corridors. The branches Kiev–Minsk–Vilnius–Klaipeda and Kaunas–Kaliningrad carry about 90% of all railway transit cargo and about 70% of the railway passenger transportation in Lithuania.

“The loan will help increase the capacity, safety and reliability of Lithuania’s railway infrastructure. The NIB-financed European-gauge track built in Lithuania is the first step in improving connectivity between the Baltic railway network and Western Europe,” says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.

AB Lietuvos gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways) is a state-owned company that administers the public railway infrastructure and provides freight and passenger transportation services. Lithuania’s total railway network is 1,767 kilometres. The main commodities transported on rail through Lithuania are oil and its related products as well as mineral fertilisers.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Mr Vilius Girkontas, Senior Manager Origination, at +358 10 618 0240,

Mr Dimitrijs Alehins, Senior Communications Specialist, at +358 10 618 0296,

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