In the wake of the damage caused by the 1997 earthquake in this region of central Italy, the EIB is continuing to direct finance towards reconstruction work with a view to rehabilitating vital infrastructure.
This latest contract for a 20-year EUR 260 million (1) loan was signed in Rome by EIB Vice-President Massimo Ponzellini and CREDIOP President Antonio Pedone at a ceremony conducted in the presence of the Vice-President of the Marche Regional Authority, Gianmario Spacca.
Following on from similar assistance for Umbria, the new facility in support of Marche is the fruit of close cooperation between the European Union's long-term financing arm and the Italian Ministry for the Interior, namely the latter's Department for Civil Protection. The funds are being channelled via CREDIOP, a leading domestic credit institution, for onlending to local authorities faced with capital spending on reconstruction projects promoted by them.
The EIB's loan is designed to offer the regional authorities optimum financing terms. It complements earlier Bank loans made available to the Regions concerned and the Cultural Heritage Ministry for emergency rehabilitation schemes following the earthquake. On each occasion, both the regional authorities and this Ministry have benefited from supplementary financial assistance made available to them by the Department for Civil Protection. Furthermore, the EIB has provided a donation towards reconstruction of a school in Fabriano badly damaged by the tremors.
The capital projects being mounted in the Marche region will have a positive impact on temporary employment throughout the duration of the work.
Founded in 1958 with the prime mission of financing capital projects designed to promote a closer-knit Europe, particularly by furthering regional development, the EIB has since seen its remits steadily widened from its original goals of furthering regional-development-associated industrial competitiveness and integration, with the emphasis on smaller businesses (SMEs), to encompass consolidating secure energy supplies, safeguarding the environment and advancing implementation of trans-European transport, telecommunications and energy networks. Outside the European Union, the EIB supports the Union's cooperation and development aid policies in favour of a large number of partner countries. The Bank's shareholders are the Member States. The EIB raises its resources on the capital markets where it commands the finest terms by virtue of its "AAA" rating.
(1) 1 EUR = 1936.27 ITL; 0.613400 GBP.