The EGO Financing Deal has won the “Transport Finance Deal of the Year” at the Bonds & Loans Turkey Awards 2021

Bezen & Partners advised and assisted the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (“EBRD”) in respect of a loan to Ankara Electricity, Gas and Bus Operations Organisation (“EGO”), which is owned by the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (“ABB”), to finance the procurement of compressed natural gas (“CNG”) buses and the installation of a CNG filling station secured by way of a guarantee granted by the ABB.

A loan in the amount of EUR 57,100,000 will be provided to the ABB for the purchase of 254 CNG buses and the installation of a CNG filling station in Ankara by EBRD as per its urban sustainability programme. With this deal, Ankara will become the 44th member of EBRD’s Green Cities programme, being the second Turkish city making the list after Izmir. Green Cities programme “strives to build a better and more sustainable future for cities and their residents.”[1]

Ankara is the second largest city and the capital of Turkey with a population of 5.7 million. To combat poor air quality (which has been a major problem of the city for a while) and the global effect of carbon emissions, the ABB will renew its public transportation system with the help of this loan by replacing the diesel bus fleet with CNG buses. Therefore, the deal not only focuses on improving public health, but is also a step to fight against climate change. It also introduces a major development in complying with ESG (environmental, social, governance) standards of a Turkish municipality.

The deal has won the “Transport Finance Deal of the Year” at the Bonds & Loans Turkey Awards 2021. The Bonds & Loans Awards recognise the most innovative and ground-breaking deals from Sovereign, Corporate and Financial Institution issuers and borrowers2 since 2015.

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1 Please see https://www.ebrdgreencities.com/.

2 Please see https://bondsloans.com/events/turkey