- EIB and Barcelona City Council, through the Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation of Barcelona, have signed a lending facility to enable development of new public social housing between 2026 and 2030.
- New housing units will benefit 2,040 people and meet high energy efficiency standards, contributing to increase Barcelona's public housing stock.
- Project forms part of the EIB’s Housing Action Plan which aims to increase financing for affordable and sustainable housing across Europe to over €4 billion in 2025.
- Signing took place during a housing innovation conference in Barcelona where the EIB Group promoted also its new Housing TechEU initiative.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Barcelona City Council, through the Municipal Institute for Housing and Renovation of Barcelona (IMHAB), have signed a €113 million lending facility today to finance the construction of nine public social housing developments in the city, totaling approximately 640 new units. The IMHAB is a local public entity fully owned by Barcelona City Council and is responsible for the construction, management and promotion of public and sustainable housing in the city.
The project is expected to benefit 2,040 vulnerable people, approximately 70% of whom will be women. The new housing units will be built to high energy efficiency standards and will include specific design and technical features to address women’s needs related to accessibility and safety. The developments are scheduled for completion between 2026 and 2030.
The financing will support Barcelona’s efforts to increase the public housing stock, respond to the city's urgent housing needs, foster social inclusion and regenerate certain urban areas. This initiative builds on a long-standing collaboration between IMHAB and the EIB. Including the operation signed today the EIB has financed approximately 2,308 social housing units for rent through IMHAB, out of which approximately 1,700 are mostly completed.
The signing took place during the Building Change: Boosting Innovation for Affordable and Sustainable Housing in Europe conference, organized by the EIB Group and hosted by the City of Barcelona. The event brought together representatives of the sector, financial institutions and European municipalities to foster innovation in the housing construction value chain and promote the EIB first-of-its-kind €400 million Housing TechEU initiative.
“The agreement between the EIB and Barcelona reinforces our commitment to tackling housing challenges in the city. One out of every four euros invested by the EIB in Catalonia this year has been allocated to housing, with a special focus on young people. This demonstrates the real impact of collaboration between institutions and European funding in improving people's lives,” said Nadia Calviño President of the EIB Group.
For Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, the agreement signed with the EIB “is another step towards accelerating the construction of public housing in Barcelona. Collaboration between administrations at all levels, and particularly with European institutions, is essential to guarantee the right to stay in Barcelona. We need all possible actors to tackle the housing crisis.’
Ioannis Tsakiris, Vice President of the EIB added: “
“Barcelona is a dynamic European city, facing rapidly growing housing needs. With this project, we are ensuring that more people especially women and vulnerable families gain access to homes that are both affordable and energy-efficient. Through Housing TechEU, the EIB is also helping innovation in the housing sector scale up so cities can build better homes and more homes, faster and at lower cost. This is how we turn Europe’s commitment to social inclusion and climate action into tangible improvements in citizens’ everyday lives.”
In his welcome speech at the conference, Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance, and Tourism at Barcelona City Council, stated that the new financing signed today reinforces the Pla Viure, the municipal strategic housing plan, which aims to respond to the housing crisis in Barcelona: ‘We need the European Union to adopt a response according with the magnitude of the situation, providing cities with the tools to tackle this crisis that threatens the social fabric of our societies.”
The project signed with the IMHAB is a strong contributor to EIB Group’s climate action and social infrastructure objectives set out in the Group’s Strategic Roadmap for 2024-2027 and the Climate Bank Roadmap Phase 2 for 2026-2030.
About the EIB commitment to strengthening Europe's housing sector and Housing TechEU
The EIB Group is working closely with the European Commission, national governments, cities, and promotional banks to strengthening Europe's housing sector by providing the finance and expertise needed to build more innovative, energy efficient and affordable homes. The EIB Group builds its affordable housing approach on three core priorities: support for innovative and sustainable housing construction techniques, renovation of Europe`s aging housing stock and building of new affordable housing.
To accelerate progress, the EIB Group has launched an Action Plan for Affordable and Sustainable Housing aimed at increasing financing across Europe to more than €4 billion in 2025, end-to-end support, and faster market solutions. As part of this Action Plan, the EIB Board authorized a first-of-its-kind €400 million HousingTechEU initiative to support mid-cap and large companies in the EU housing market to accelerate industrial, technological and construction innovation. This new funding will help develop new construction materials, machinery and engineering to improve the quality and lower the costs of housing, while boosting European innovation and competitiveness.
To make it easier for local authorities, developers, and communities to access support, the Group has created the “More homes. Better homes” online portal, connecting housing stakeholders with the advice, funding, and financing they need. This web portal was endorsed by the European Commission as a first step towards the Pan-European Investment Platform.
For a comprehensive view of the EIB Group initiatives to support affordable housing in Europe visit More homes. Better homes.
Access to the opening remarks of EIB Group President Nadia Caliviño here: President Calviño's opening remarks at the Barcelona housing conference
Photo caption from left to right: Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni, EIB Vice President Ioannis Tsakiris
Background information
EIB
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. The EIB finances investments in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world and Europe’s capital markets union.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.
Approximately half of the EIB's financing within the EU targets cohesion regions, where per-capita income is below the EU average, while almost 60% of annual EIB Group investments support climate action and environmental sustainability.
In Spain, the EIB Group signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024, helping power the country’s green and digital transition and promote economic growth, competitiveness and better services for its people.
High-quality, up-to-date photos of the organisation’s headquarters for media use are available here.