The European Investment Bank (EIB) announces a loan of EUR 50 million to Eiffage for part-financing construction of the Millau Viaduct, an exceptional 2.5km-long cable-stayed bridge spanning the Tarn valley on the A75 Clermont Ferrand - Béziers motorway.

The benefits accruing from this EIB operation will be threefold : completing an item of infrastructure of European interest; fostering regional development; and enhancing the quality of life in the town of Millau. The viaduct, the only type of structure capable of providing a crossing of the Tarn valley compatible with motorway standards, represents a key component of the A75 motorway on the Paris-Barcelona route. This highway, forming part of the Trans-European transport network, will thus serve as a fully-fledged alternative to the Rhone corridor on which the majority of traffic between North-Western Europe on the one hand and Southern France and the Iberian Peninsula on the other currently converges. The viaduct is the sole part of the A75 being built under a private concession, with the remainder implemented entirely under the responsibility of the State in view of its role in improving access to the eastern part of the Massif Central. Once the viaduct is completed, the motorway will help to give fresh impetus to this Objective 2 region where agriculture and tourism are the mainstay of the economy. In addition, by eliminating the notorious crossing of Millau, one of the largest bottlenecks in France, the project will also impact favourably on the environment, while significantly enhancing the quality of life of the town's inhabitants.

Given the high investment outlay, the French State has awarded the Eiffage Group, against levying of tolls, a 75-year concession for the project. The EIB loan will enable the Group to diversify resources earmarked for financing the bridge and to improve their cost. Eiffage has been involved in infrastructure concession work for a number of years, with certain projects already funded by the EIB (Prado-Carenage Tunnel in Marseilles, Interior Norte motorway in Portugal).

The EIB has vigorously stepped up its support for Trans-European Networks (TENs) since these were identified by the December 1994 Essen European Council, together with their extension towards regions bordering on the EU. Since 1993, the EIB has advanced EUR 59.2 billion for TENs, of which EUR 37 billion for transport TENs. As the leading source of bank finance for large-scale networks in Europe, the EIB is able to mobilise very substantial volumes of funds on terms tailored to the size of these projects. It is involved in all major infrastructure projects in Europe, including those mounted under Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), and has made available EUR 14 billion for transport-sector PPPs. Examples include the Oresund link between Denmark and Sweden, the Rion Antirion bridge connecting the Peloponnese to central Greece, the second bridge over the Tagus in Lisbon, the second Severn bridge in England and the bridge linking the Isle of Skye to mainland Scotland.