(Paris, 23 September 2004) --- François Goulard, Minister of State for Transport and Marine Affairs, Charles Milhaud, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne (CNCE), and Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), today signed a protocol marking the establishment of the Sustainable Urban Transport Programme (SUTP). This EUR 500m programme is designed to finance investment in the urban public transport sector. It will be intermediated by the Caisse d'Epargne Group and benefit from favourable financial terms by virtue of being backed by EIB resources.
The development of sustainable urban public transport, which is regarded as a priority by the French Government and the European Union in terms of regional planning policy, requires substantial investment estimated at some EUR 2bn annually. Against this background, the Caisse d'Epargne Group approached the French Government and the EIB, the European Union's development bank, with a view to establishing a credit line of EUR 500m specially dedicated to this sector.
The Sustainable Urban Transport Programme (SUTP) will be used for large and medium-sized urban public transport projects that are currently at the launch phase and are due to be completed within the next three to four years, located throughout France (apart from the Ile-de-France).
The financing arrangements proposed by the Caisse d'Epargne Group reflect the stages in which a public transport project is implemented:
An initial phase of up to 36 months will allow the borrower to finance the works. A second phase will allow the transport authorities to match loan repayment dates with the gradual commissioning of facilities.
At the end of this second phase, the capital will be repaid according to the profile specified by the borrower.
With a maximum term of 40 years, this financing programme will provide great flexibility for borrowers in terms of both the source of funds and the method and schedule of repayment.
After signing the protocol, François Goulard, Philippe de Fontaine Vive and Charles Milhaud highlighted the value of the collaboration which had allowed the SUTP to come into being and provide local authorities with the best possible financial conditions for investment.
The EIB's financing of exclusive lane public transport forms part of its priority action to encourage sustainable urban development, aimed in particular at reducing pollution and improving the quality of life in urban areas.
In this context, the EIB has provided funding of more than EUR 11bn throughout the European Union in the past five years for the development of urban transport. It has been involved with metro and tramway systems including those of Athens, Alicante, Barcelona, Bilbao, Brussels, Berlin, Valencia, Lisbon, Madrid, Munich, Düsseldorf, London, Manchester, the Midlands, Sheffield, Dublin, Budapest and Prague.
In France, the EIB has supported urban transport projects with almost EUR 2.2bn over ten years, in particular exclusive lane public transport in Lyons, St Etienne, Rennes, Montpellier, Orleans, Nancy, Nantes, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Mulhouse and Valenciennes.