(Bloomberg) -- The Dutch government will lend grid operator Tennet Holding BV €25 billion ($27.4 billion) for much needed grid investments as the sale of its German network remains up in the air.

State-owned operator Tennet will use the funds for grid improvements and to support the Netherlands’ energy transition, Dutch Finance Minister Steven van Weyenberg announced Friday in a statement. The government signaled that the loan wasn’t a long-term solution, but offers a bridge until Tennet’s German grid is sold or another financing solution is found.

For months Amsterdam and Berlin have been working to reach a deal on the sale of Tennet’s German power grid. Bloomberg reported in November that an agreement was close to being announced, before a court ruling on off-budget spending forced the German government to recalibrate fiscal plans.

Tennet said in a separate statement that there “is no certainty that a transaction will materialize,” and that discussions will continue in the coming period. Meanwhile, the overloaded power grid has put a strain on the Netherlands’s ability to reach its climate goals and transition away from fossil fuels.

The Dutch government decided to push ahead with the loan because Tennet urgently needs the funds by the end of the first quarter, Weyenberg said at a press briefing in the Hague. More than half of the loan facility will be made available for investments to the German grid, he added.

“Talks are ongoing and the parties are nearing each other, that much I can say,” Weyenberg said.

The finance ministry said in its statement that in 2024 Tennet must make around €13 billion available in new financing for planned investments in the Netherlands and Germany.

(Updates with further details throughout)

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