The Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank approved EUR 7.4 billion of new financing for 38 projects across Europe and around the world. Negotiations for the approved loans are expected to be finalised in the coming months.
The Board approved EUR 3 billion of new EIB financing for seventeen projects backed by the EU budget guarantee under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). This includes research and development of new wind turbines in Germany, investment in research intensive early stage life science companies in Ireland and the UK, equity financing of small infrastructure projects in France and energy transmission in Italy.
The EFSI initiative will also support safety improvements at Vilnius airport and three biomass power plants in the Lithuanian capital and in Portugal, as well as roll-out of 4G mobile internet in Sweden and the Netherlands. Lending under the Investment Plan for Europe is also expected to support SME investment in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
A total of EUR 1 billion, also backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments guarantee, was approved for a new initiative, intended to reduce harmful emissions in the European shipping industry through investment in energy efficient technologies and financing for retrofitting existing vessels and financing new environmentally friendly ships.
“The EIB is delivering on the Investment Plan for Europe. We have already approved projects that account for over a third of the final goal of mobilising EUR 315 billion in new investment. The diversity and scale of new EIB loans approved today and backed by the EU budget guarantee shows that the Plan is unlocking new investment that will transform services and accelerate investment and growth. This new financing backed by the EFSI guarantee will help accelerate pioneering drug treatment, improve security of energy supply and improve airport safety. These are truly innovative projects that benefit all Europeans”, said European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer.
New financing for strategic investment approved by the EIB Board also included upgrading of the water network in the Spanish region of Vizcaya, upgrading 7 hospitals in Stockholm, social housing in Berlin, including accommodation for refugees, extension of two geothermal power plans in Iceland and construction of a new deep water port in Aberdeen, Scotland.
Transport projects approved by the monthly board meeting include upgrading rail signalling in northern Italy and 40 new tram cars for the City of Helsinki. New urban investment including education, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transport, social care, culture and water schemes in the cities of Szeged in Hungary, Oulu in Finland, Presov in Slovakia as well as towns across Germany were backed also backed by the EIB Board.
More than EUR 3.1 billion of the new lending approved by today’s EIB board meeting, will improve access to finance by small business across Europe, including in Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Turkey . Dedicated lending programmes will support investment by start-up companies and the self-employed in Portugal, by SME’s working with the Spanish innovation agency CDTI and by smallholder farmers and agricultural companies across Africa.
All projects, including those earmarked for support under the EU budget guarantee, need to receive approval of the EIB Board prior to loan contracts being finalised. Loans and guarantees approved by the Board of Directors will be finalised in cooperation with promoters and beneficiaries, and figures may vary.
Source: www.eib.org
