The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is continuing its supportive efforts in Ukraine by investing $187 million in the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod (UPU) pipeline, the bank said on Monday.

EBRD Managing Director for Energy and Natural Resources Riccardo Puliti said this enhancement of the pipeline, through repairs and upgrades, is a crucial part of the assistance package the bank is offering.

"This is not only a project about modernizing infrastructure but, through the conditions inserted in the financing documents, an opportunity to improve the corporate governance of both NAK Naftogaz and Ukrtransgaz, and to contribute to the overall transparency of the energy sector in Ukraine," Puliti said.

Ukraine reportedly has the largest gas storage facility in Europe and a prime conduit for transporting natural gas. With proper transparency measures, the country could reinvent itself as a European energy hub, Puliti said.

“This project is an extremely positive development for Ukraine and (more) proof of the tangible support we are receiving on our way to reform," Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin said.