The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has provided a 160 million-euro loan to Greek power utility PPC to support the company’s capital expenditure plan, the bank has announced in a statement.

Guaranteed by the Greek State, the loan represents the largest BSTDB financing to date, the bank noted.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance PPC’s capital expenditures for the upgrade, modernization and expansion of the distribution network, which serves approximately seven million customers all over Greece, the BSTDB statement noted.

Signing the agreement, BSTDB President Dmitry Pankin commented: “Our support to PPC, a core electric power provider and employer, reaffirms BSTDB’s strong commitment to supporting economic recovery and sustainable growth in Greece. Electricity network infrastructure is essential for the economy and everyday life of people. We are pleased that our funding will help PPC to develop and improve its operations and network across the country.”

PPC’s chief executive Manolis Panagiotakis remarked: “Capital expenditure in the distribution network is critically important as it will cover rising demand due to economic growth and result in stable attractive returns for the PPC group…The loan represents the commencement of cooperation between PPC and BSTDB which we expect to expand in other areas as well.”

BSTDB is an international financial institution established by Greece, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki.

BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries.