the EU bank

The European Investment Bank and the Piraeus Port Authority SA have signed a further EUR 55 million finance contract. Financed investments will provide an extra capacity for increased container traffic and cross-border transhipment.

The contract was signed in a ceremony in the presence of Mr Anastasios Papaligouras, Minister of Mercantile Marine, the Aegean and Island Policy, by EIB Vice-President Plutarchos Sakellaris, and Mr Nicholaos Anastasopoulos, Managing Director of Piraeus Port Authority.

EIB Vice-President Plutarchos Sakellaris commented at the signing ceremony: “The port of Piraeus is the main sea gateway of Greece and an important transhipment hub towards other Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea countries. Linked to north-south transport corridors it can be a hub for the Greek hinterland and the whole central and Eastern Europe. It is a European priority project. It is fully in line with our Transport Lending Policy, supporting the modal shift towards more energy-efficient and environmental-friendly transport”.

For maritime transport development in Greece, the EIB signed in 2005 a EUR 3 billion Framework Agreement with the Hellenic Republic for upgrading port infrastructure throughout the country. The first loans under this Agreement, signed in 2005 and 2006, were related to container terminal investments in the Ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki. Both ports are integral parts of the Trans-European Networks.

This new loan steps up the Bank’s recent support to the port of Piraeus to a total of EUR 90 million.The project concerns the upgrading and expansion of the Pier I of the Piraeus port at the Ikonion Container Terminal. The project has received a first EIB loan of EUR 35 million in 2005. The new operation concerns an upgrade and increase in scope in order to establish a super post-panamax terminal on Pier I, which would enable the Port Authority to accommodate the latest generation of very large container vessels. A first EIB loan of EUR 43 million has been granted in 1995 for infrastructure works and equipment related to Pier II.

Note to editors:

The European Investment Bank supports the political and strategic objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically sound investment projects. The EIB’s shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Total EIB lending rose by 21 percent in 2008 to EUR 57bn, compared to EUR 48bn in 2007. Loan signatures rose sharply towards the end of the year, reflecting the EIB's swift response to help underpin economic recovery at the request of the European Union's Member States. In Greece in 2008, the EIB provided a total of EUR 1 165m in loans, 54% up from the EUR 755mn 2007 figure.