Today, the European Investment Bank (EIB), in its capacity as the Manager of the JESSICA Holding Fund for Westpomerania, and Bank Zachodni WBK (BZ WBK), acting as an Urban Development Fund (UDF), signed an agreement creating Poland’s third JESSICA UDF. This will invest in urban development and regeneration projects in the Szczecin Metropolitan Area.
The Westpomerania Managing Authority was a pioneer in Poland establishing a JESSICA Holding Fund (HF) within the EIB with the aim of deploying EU Structural Funds for city investments in a more efficient manner. The respective Funding Agreement was signed on 30 July 2009 and its main objective was to accelerate the region’s economic potential through revitalisation of degraded urban areas, thus leading to more balanced development of the region as a whole.
The JESSICA investment portfolio in Westpomerania may include projects such as the construction or renovation of urban infrastructure, renovation of historical buildings, and housing projects, e.g. schemes supporting energy efficiency, or the construction or upgrading of the technical infrastructure of buildings. The urban projects to be financed by the UDF are expected to focus on supporting initiatives, that increase the economic potential of the region.
BZ WBK is one of the biggest private banks in Poland providing a wide spectrum of financial services for individuals, SMEs and public sector entities. This bank, together with the Westpomeranian Regional Development Agency (Zachodniopomorska Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego - ZARR) was chosen to manage approximately PLN 77 million as an intermediary in funding urban development projects in the Szczecin Metropolitan Area. Investments will be implemented through repayable financial instruments, including loans and, potentially, equity.
The Westpomerania Region is very advanced as regards implementation of the JESSICA initiative. So far, two Urban Development Funds (the first one being Bank Ochrony Środowiska) have been selected to invest approximately PLN 140 million in urban projects in the Westpomerania Region.
Background notes:
The mission of the EIB, the European Union’s bank, is to contribute to the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States by financing sound investments.
JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) is one of the Cohesion Policy Joint Initiatives that were developed by the European Commission to contribute to making EU Cohesion Policy more efficient and sustainable. The JESSICA mechanism is based on cooperation between the Commission, the EIB and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) and supports investments in sustainable urban development and regeneration.
This initiative, designed to increase the use of financial engineering instruments, allows Managing Authorities to use part of their European Structural Funds allocations to invest in revolving funds rather than providing one-off grant financing. By so doing, the Authorities can recycle financial resources in order to enhance and accelerate investment in urban areas. These investments, which may take the form of equity, loans and/or guarantees, are delivered to projects via Urban Development Funds and, if required, Holding Funds. The first JESSICA fund in Poland was initiated in the Wielkopolska Region, the second in Westpomerania.
BZ WBK is a well-known private bank. It is one of the biggest banks in Poland providing a wide spectrum of financial services for individuals, SMEs and public sector entities.