©Richard Willis/Medical University of Warsaw

The board of the European Investment Bank approved a total of EUR 4.7 billion of new financing for 30 projects across Europe and around the world at its meeting in Luxembourg today, including EUR 530 million for natural disaster recovery in Italy.

Reconstruction efforts will follow 40 different extreme weather events in 16 Italian regions over the last three years. This will help to finance urban reconstruction, including housing and public buildings, as well as financing to small companies and agricultural businesses impacted by recent natural disasters.

Other approved operations included backing for road and rail transport, renewable energy and electricity interconnectors, industrial innovation, healthcare, education and off-grid solar energy.

“We continue to observe an investment drought in the European economy hurting the future competitiveness of the continent, and market gaps in long-term financing opportunities available,” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank. “The new projects approved today continue EIB’s contribution towards filling those gaps, to supporting sustainable investment across Europe and around the world. But we also stand ready to help regions to get back on their feet when natural disasters strike, as today’s financing package for Italy shows.”

Investment Plan for Europe

Financing for eleven projects approved by the EIB board will be backed by the Investment Plan for Europe and support overall investment totaling EUR 1.6 billion in fifteen EU countries.

Today’s approvals included support for research and development in Bulgaria, Germany, France and Denmark as well as financing for transport and social infrastructure in Poland.

Improving urban, regional and national transport

A total of EUR 1.8 billion of new financing was approved for 8 new rail and road transport projects. This includes support for rail and road network modernisation in Poland, new trams in the Rhine-Neckar conurbation and new intercity rolling stock for use on routes between Paris and the Normandy coast.

New financing for congested urban roads in Tunisia was also approved, supporting construction of 8 new road junctions in the city of Sfax.

Supporting sustainable energy and improving electricity networks

Support for investment in new onshore windfarms in Latvia, as well as new small scale geothermal, biomass and solar power schemes across Italy, was approved amongst a total of EUR 664 million for new energy investment.

The board also backed financing proposals to modernise and reduce energy use in district heating in Krakow, to construct a new combined heat and power plant fuelled by waste in Sofia and to build a 400kV electricity interconnector between Romania and the Moldovan capital Chisinau.

It also agreed to a new scheme to support energy and water efficiency investment by private householders in Portugal.

Enabling corporate innovation and research

The EIB board approved more than EUR 495 million of new financing to support innovation by private companies. This includes modernisation of steel manufacturing in Germany and France, development of catalysts in Denmark, energy efficient cables in Italy, and research into new vaccines in Bulgaria.

Improving health and education facilities

Reflecting the EIB’s commitment to support long-term investment in social infrastructure and innovation, new financing to support the design, construction and fitting out of a new medical simulation centre in Warsaw and modernisation of high schools in the Seine-Saint-Denis department was also approved.

Backing urban regeneration

The board gave the green light for proposals to support city wide regeneration, renovation and preservation investment schemes in Limerick and financing investment in cities across Silesia.

Support for small business investment

A total of EUR 560 million of new financing to be managed in partnership with local banks was approved. This will improve access to finance by small and medium sized companies in Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Portugal.

No public-private partnership projects were considered by the October meeting.