2009-09-02 10:09:01 -

London, September, 02, 2009

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) will provide the City of Helsinki
with a long-term loan of EUR 50 million for financing investments in
new low-floor trams and metro cars.


The City of Helsinki is aiming at further increasing tram traffic and
other means of public transport in the coming years. The city will
purchase 40 new trams, which will partly replace trams from the
1970s. The passenger capacity will increase by 15%.

The metro network will be expanded westward to Espoo, the second
largest city of Finland. The extended metro line will comprise some
14 km of tracks and seven stations, for which 48 metro cars will be
needed. The capacity of the underground service in terms of passenger
seats will increase by some 40%. The new cars will be fully
automated.

The City of Helsinki seeks to ensure a high quality of service in its
public transport and aims at strengthening the status of public
transport by emphasising investments in rail transport. Rail
transport is fast, convenient and, compared to cars, is an
environment-friendly way of travelling.

The added value of NIB's loan to the City of Helsinki is its very
long-term financing of 30 years. It allows the city to develop its
rail transport in the long run, as well as keep the public transport
tariffs at a moderate level. The long maturity of the loan is a
reflection of the expected life time of the new vehicles, which is 40
years.

"This loan demonstrates NIB's added value for cities and
municipalities, which in the current economic situation may find it
challenging to obtain long-term funding. Moreover, it is a good
opportunity for the Bank to enhance environment-friendly means of
transport," says Johnny Åkerholm, President and CEO of NIB.

The value of the city's investment programme for rail transportation
amounts to EUR 143 million. The trams and metro cars are expected to
be taken into use in 2013 to 2015.


NIB is a multilateral financial institution owned by eight member
countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania,
Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in
and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit
rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor's
and Moody's.


For further information, please contact
NIB
Mr Lars Selenius, Senior Director, Lending, at +358 10 618 0502,
lars.selenius@nib.int
Mr Kim Krokfors, Senior Manager, Lending, at +358 10 618 0517,
kim.krokfors@nib.int
City of Helsinki
Mr Matti Lahdenranta, Managing Director, Helsinki City Transport at
+358 9 310 35091
Ms Eija Venetkoski-Kukka, Senior Manager, Finance, Economic and
Planning Centre, at +358 9 310 36329


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