OREANDA-NEWS. October 13, 2009. Consultants from Germany are to help Freight One draw up a development strategy to enable the subsidiary of Russian Railways (RZHD) to improve its corporate management and reduce its operational dependence on the parent structure.

A tender to provide consulting services for Freight One has been announced by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has already granted the RZHD subsidiary credit of USD 130m and is now considering a new loan worth USD 100m.

High-quality corporate management and operational independence from RZHD are key conditions of Freight One’s successful entry onto the capital market, it says in the tender materials.

Consultancy work is due to begin in January 2010 and will last four months.

The consultants must be citizens of Germany or work in a German company. This is because consultancy services under the project are to be paid for out of a grant issued by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.

Freight One was created in July 2007 as part of a reform of the railway transport system. The company has a fleet of 200,000 rail cars. 100% of its shares presently belong to RZHD, but in the medium term the company plans to carry out an IPO or private placement.