| Project Detail |
An up to USD 20m participation in an up to USD 45m senior secured facility in favour of Telecom Armenia, to refinance the Companys existing debt - largely resulting from its leveraged acquisition by Team LLC, and to finance its growth capex plan, including network expansion in rural areas.
Project Objectives
The proceeds of EBRDs USD 20m loan shall be allocated to i) financing fibre network capex in the amount of USD 3.0m, as well as ii) refinancing existing debt in the amount of up to USD 17.0m (together the "Project").
Transition Impact
ETI score: 63
Competitive: As of 2019, FTTH penetration stood at 7.7% in Armenia. The Project will support the rollout of Telecom Armenias ultra-high speed FTTH (1- 10 Gbps), including to secondary cities and rural areas. This will push the coverage rate of this modern ICT infrastructure to c. 19.2% in the country. Thus, the Project will lead to more reliable and faster internet connectivity across Armenia, as well as extend connectivity to underserved areas. Telecom Armenias network is fully open to competitors on a wholesale basis, and the Company does not benefit from public support. Green: The Project supports energy-efficient upgrades to the Companys fixed and mobile networks, with USD 3m of the loan proceeds to be directly applied to such investments. In addition, the proposed financing features a long tenor and a sculpted repayment profile, which will free-up internally-generated cash for funding further network upgrades. The upgrade of the fixed network involves replacing the current twisted copper cable network infrastructure with a fibre network including next generation Passive Optical Networks (PON) and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) solutions. The upgrade of the mobile network involves expanding the Companys 4G coverage and capacity by adding 4G base stations and sectors in existing 2G/3G sites. Through its capex financing component, the Project is estimated to result in primary energy savings of 1.13 PJ/year, corresponding to 28,859 tonnes of CO2e savings per year. The Project is 15% GET eligible. |
