Dnevnik reported that Bulgaria's National Railway Infrastructure Company will apply for a BGN 140 million loan from the World Bank, below the originally planned BGN 250 million.

Mr Joanna Dimitrova finance director of National Railway Infrastructure Company told Dnevnik that the funds will be used for purchasing machinery and equipment for repairs and management of the railway infrastructure.

The amount of the loan was reduced after the company calculated the value of the equipment needed, with details of the credit to be determined in the coming weeks, when representatives of the World Bank will visit Sofia.

He added that "Then we will specify the absorption and the term of the loan. It is already clear that the grace period will be seven years."

The facility will most likely be provided in several tranches and the company will seek to secure the shortest term for repayment, she added. It is still unclear, however, whether the loan will be extended to the country or whether Bulgaria will provide guarantees only.

The other state owned railway firm, carrier BDZ, has also approached the World Bank for a loan, seeking BGN 460 million, which will be provided to the state.

The World Bank has demanded that two companies restructure their businesses and curtail expenses in order to obtain the funds. NRIC will chiefly resort to job cuts to meet the bank's requirements.

The first wave of redundancies will affect the company's administration, which will reduce the number of its regional departments to five from the current 13. The move will affect between 300 and 350 employees. NRIC will also shed part of its technical staff. The infrastructure company has personnel of 14,700 that should be reduced to 10,000 by 2016 under the World Bank's terms.

(Sourced from www.dnevnik.bg)