Russian leading operator MTS secured a seven-year $300 million loan from the New Development Bank (NDB) to fund network and cloud infrastructure development projects.
In a statement, MTS President and CEO Alexey Kornya said the agreement was a “major milestone” to advance “vitally important infrastructure projects” with the funds to be used to expand connectivity to rural towns and remote regions, specifically mobile network coverage and cloud computing. The project was the first from the operator to be funded by the NDB.
The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in those nations and other emerging economies.
Marcos Troyjo, NDB president said: “We are committed to the development of tech-intensive infrastructure in our member countries. Expanding the non-sovereign portfolio, complexity and outreach of operations are priorities for us.
“Our new loan agreement is the first digital infrastructure project supported by the NDB, and it represents a new stage in the diversification of its operations.”
The news follows MTS deepening its partnership with Vodafone to broaden operations.