Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski and European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Matthias Kollatz-Ahnen signed Friday a loan agreement on a structural program loan of 700 million euros.

The loan agreement provides funds mainly for improvement of the infrastructure through the implementation of projects financed under the EU structural funds and the Cohesion Fund.

The loan's beneficiary is the central budget. The money will be paid in installments as portions of the national co-financing of the operational program, mainly transport and environment.

The loan will be disbursed in 20 installments, each amounting to at least 30 million euros. For each installment, the beneficiary sets a repayment term within at least four years and up to 25 years, with a grace period of up to seven years. There are two options for the interest rate of each installment, fixed or floating, with a possibility for renegotiation.

After the signing ceremony Oresharski said that the concrete size of the installments will be determined based on concrete estimates for utilization of the funds of the respective operational program. He said the loan will contribute to the better absorption of EU funds. The Finance Minister said that utilizing the entire amount of the loan will mean that Bulgaria has taken advantage of almost the entire allocation from the Cohesion Fund.

Kollatz-Ahnen said that the successful utilization of EU funds is very important for Bulgaria, its convergence and the transformation of its economy. He noted that EIB wishes to support the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects, including via the so-called Technical Assistance.