Armenia: Yerevan Gets $20 Million Loan to Renovate Capital's Metro

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank and European Neighborhood Investment Facility announced plans to provide a 15-million-euro ($20.4 million) low-interest loan to Armenia to help overhaul the capital city's 30-year-old subway system, the RIA Novosti agency is reporting.

The EBRD and Armenian government signed the loan agreement on March 10, the Panorama news agency reported. The money will help ensure the safe operation of Yerevan's Soviet-era-built, 13.4-kilometer-long system. The project will upgrade subterranean water pumps, replace rails and renovate rail cars in the subway network, which operates as a single line with a shuttle branch.