The western Ukrainian city of Ternopil has completed energy-efficiency upgrades at four kindergartens and put 17 new Ukrainian-made trolleybuses into service with backing from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The support is part of European Union efforts to improve essential services in Ternopil, a city of around 250,000 people, the EIB said in a release on Friday.
More than 1,100 children and 250 staff are expected to benefit from improvements at Kindergartens No. 1, No. 14, No. 20 and No. 21, after around €5 million in EIB financing supported the work.
The upgrades included new insulation, windows and doors, as well as improved heating and ventilation, energy-efficient lighting and accessibility improvements.
The changes are projected to cut energy consumption by at least 20%.
New trolleybuses enter service
Ternopil has also introduced 17 trolleybuses — electric buses that draw power from overhead wires — with €5.5 million in EIB financing, the bank said. The vehicles were manufactured in Ukraine by ElectronMash LLC, according to the EIB.
The trolleybuses include low floors, ramps for passengers with reduced mobility, and onboard systems such as passenger information displays, GPS tracking and video surveillance.
They also have energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning.
Karl Nehammer, an EIB vice-president, said the bank’s financing in Ternopil was delivering “practical improvements” to essential services, according to the statement.
Joost Mohlmann, head of section for reconstruction, energy, infrastructure and environment at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, said the projects meant “better services today.”
Ternopil Mayor Serhii Nadal said residents would see “modern trolleybuses” and children would have “warmer kindergartens.”
