Moldova will borrow US$20 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for modernizing energy infrastructure. The financing agreement was signed by Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the EBRD Regional Director for the Caucasus, Moldova and Belarus Paul Henri Forestier on May 22, Info-Prim Neo reports. The loan is repayable in 15 years, with a grace period of three years, at a LIBOR interest rate of (0.7314) + 1%. The money will be used to rehabilitate the internal power transportation networks of IS Moldelectrica by April 2017. “We launched a broad process that will end with the interconnection of Moldova’s energy system with the common European electric power transportation system,” said the Premier. The EBRD and the European Investment Bank are ready to co-finance the project with US$20 million and, respectively, €17 million, while the European Commission decided to allocate a grant of €8 million through the agency of the Neighborhood Investment Facility. “The agreements with the European Investment Bank and the European Commission will be signed in the near future, after the foreign partner institutions complete the approval procedures,” said Vlad Filat. Paul Henri Forestier said that good cooperation relations have been established between the EBRD and Moldova. During the 20 years of cooperation, the EBRD invested over €600 million in over 85 projects in different sectors of the national economy. It is considering the possibility of initiating new joint projects with Moldova in such areas as transport and railroads.