United Kingdom Export Finance (UKEF), the UK government's export credit agency, is going to back Rönesans Holding, one of Europe's top ten construction companies, enabling it to complete a 286km-long electric railway by underwriting a loan of EUR 781 million. UKEF partnered with J.P. Morgan, ING Bank and BNP Paribas as loan providers along with SACE and OeKB – the Italian and Austrian export credit agencies as reinsurance providers.
“We're thrilled to be working with UKEF, J.P. Morgan, ING and BNP to secure a deal that will enable a landmark shift in the Turkish construction of rail links and the high-speed railway project," commented Rönesans Holding President Erman Ilıcak.
“The UK-Türkiye trade relationship is increasingly getting stronger. Last year, UK exports to Türkiye reached GBP 8.5 billion, and this week we announced plans for an updated trade deal that will further boost exports and imports between our countries," expressed Lord Offord, UK Minister for Exports.
Offering a lower-carbon transport link between Mersin, Türkiye's secondlargest container port, and inland cities over 150 miles away – including the cities of Adana, Osmaniye, and Gaziantep – the railway is expected to reduce CO2e emissions by over 150,000 tonnes a year. UKEF's loan will create multimillion-pound export contract opportunities for UK suppliers, as well as develop both countries' infrastructure, engineering, and project management sectors.