the EU bank

This morning in Madrid, the European Investment Bank (EIB), represented by its Vice-President Carlos da Silva Costa, and the Madrid Region, represented by its President Esperanza Aguirre, signed two loan contracts totalling EUR 397 million for financing investment in educational facilities and the extension of Madrid’s metro network.

Vice-President Carlos Costa stressed that “the signing of these two loans constitutes another step forward in the cooperation between the EIB and the Madrid Region, which goes back more than 20 years. As in the past, these bankable major projects are backed by a competent and experienced promoter, which is why the Madrid Region is one of the biggest recipients of EIB loans in Spain”.

The first operation is a direct EUR 320 million loan to the Region designed to finance works involving 415 colleges and pre-school, primary, secondary and vocational training establishments spread across the region. The project comprises the construction of new schools and the refurbishment and expansion of existing schools, along with the provision of furniture and equipment. It will meet the need to increase the number of school places in the region, whose population is constantly growing, and to upgrade teaching facilities and adapt them to the new learning environment.

MINTRA, a public entity set up by the Madrid Region, will receive the second EUR 77 million loan to finance the extension of lines 2 and 11 of the Madrid Metro. Line 2 will be extended by 4.6 km and get four new stations. Line 11 will be extended by 3.2 km and get one new station. It is estimated that the project will benefit some 83 000 users.

Both the investment in human capital (the construction of more than 400 colleges) and the improvement of key infrastructure (the metro network) will foster the sustainable development of the Madrid region.

The EIB is the EU’s long-term financing institution promoting European objectives. Founded in 1957, it operates in the 27 EU Member States and over 130 other countries worldwide.

EIB financing operations are mounted in the framework of well-defined EU policies. They focus in particular on investment fostering human capital formation (e.g. education and training), environmental protection and sustainable communities, including projects helping to improve the urban environment, reduce pollution in our towns and cities and promote social welfare.