©Marco Santarelli/EIB

New loans for up to EUR 1,3bn will be made available over the next three years by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to Italian schools for the modernisation and safety of their buildings and facilities. The financing is part of a new institutional agreement signed with the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research which builds up on a previous commitment coming to an end this year.

Fresh EIB resources will be made available for the Italian Government’s Schools Upgrading Plan in the years 2018-2020. A new institutional agreement was signed today, on the occasion of the Italian National Day for School Safety, by the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research (MIUR), Ms Valeria Fedeli, European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President, Mr Dario Scannapieco, and the Chief Business Officer of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), Ms Antonella Baldino.

The EIB will finance projects aimed at upgrading, modernising and enhancing safety of school infrastructure in Italy with loans up to EUR 1.3 billion. One key component of the Schools Upgrade Plan will be the prevention of accidents and seismic damages. The EIB funding will be provided to Cassa Depositi e Prestiti who, in turn, will onlend it to the Regions, who are the bodies responsible for coordinating and selecting the relevant projects at local level. Within each Region, Municipalities, Provinces and Metropolitan Cities will identify projects and ensure implementation.

The new institutional agreement marks a major step in the EIB’s solid cooperation with CDP and the Italian Government in the implementation of the national Schools Upgrading Plan, which began in 2015. In the first three years (2015-2017), the EIB has approved financing worth more than EUR 1.4 billion, with two-thirds already allocated by CDP to over 1 500 school projects throughout the country.