The European Investment Bank, the European Union's financing institution, will support two road projects in Sweden helping to ease traffic congestion in both the Göteborg and Stockholm areas.
The first loan of SEK 600 million (EUR 65 million) concerns the 'Götaleden' project involving the upgrading of a busy urban road in the centre of Göteborg. It represents the first tranche of a total facility of up to SEK 1.6 billion (EUR 174 million) approved by the Bank for this project. The second loan relates to the Southern Link of the Stockholm Ring Road, representing the third and final tranche of the approved EIB facility totalling SEK 4 billion (EUR 436 million). The final beneficiary in both cases is Vägverket, the Swedish National Road Administration.
The Göteborg project concerns the improvement of 3.3 km of a busy urban road and its diversion into a tunnel, which will fulfil a vital role in easing the traffic situation in the city. Göteborg, Sweden's second city with almost half a million inhabitants, is a major intersection for various means of transport, including the largest port in the Nordic region. The 'Götaleden' is a road project under the so-called Göteborg agreement and should be completed by 2006. The agreement involves investments of more than SEK 7 billion (EUR 763 million) about half in roads and half in public transport, and aims at developing the region focusing on traffic and the environment.
In Stockholm, the Southern Link construction should help reduce the city's road traffic situation as well as improving the urban environment and quality of life in the area.
"With the financing of these Swedish road projects, the EIB is pleased to be able to add value and improve the infrastructure facilities and the urban environment in the Nordic Triangle and, in the case of the Göteborg project, advance an important part of the Trans European network of the E6 motorway between Oslo and Copenhagen", EIB Vice-President Ewald Nowotny, responsible for Sweden, said.
Mr Bengt Wolffram, Chairman of the Board of Göteborgs Trafikleder AB, said: "It is appreciated that the EIB is engaged in the financing of the 'Götaleden' as this is also a part of the Nordic Triangle E6-E18-E4, which the European Union has identified as very important".
The European Investment Bank, the European Union's long-term lending institution, finances capital investment furthering EU integration, in particular: regional development, trans-European networks in transport, telecoms and energy; industrial competitiveness and integration; SMEs; environmental protection; and energy security. It also operates outside the EU within the framework of the EU's co-operation external policy. Owned by the Member States, the EIB raises its funds on capital markets (AAA issuer). The EIB has maintained a high level of financing in the European transport sector, committing some EUR 37.3 billion over the past five years for transport projects of which EUR 1.6 billion in Sweden. In 2001, the EIB lent some EUR 31 billion within the EU of which EUR 950 million was in Sweden.