The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 125 million loan for modernisation of the municipal infrastructure of the Polish Capital Warsaw.
The EIB framework loan will provide the funds to finance small and medium scale urban development projects primarily in the fields of urban renewal and of rehabilitation of urban infrastructure in the City of Warsaw, the biggest city in the new EU Member States. The loan will also support investment projects in the areas of local transportation, environmental protection, health and education, conservation and cultural heritage, and the provision of priority community facilities.
The EIB has a well-developed cooperation regarding project financing with the City of Warsaw. In the past, the Bank provided EUR 50 million for the development and modernisation of the Warsaw municipal infrastructure, as well as EUR 45 million for the construction of the Water Treatment Plant Poludnie. Mr. Ivan Pilip, EIB Vice-President responsible for Bank's operations in Poland and in the Czech and Slovak Republics, signed the loan contract with Mr. Slawomir Skrzypek, Deputy Mayor of Warsaw, today in the EIB headquarters in Luxembourg.
Mr. Pilip stated: « The EIB supports projects of modernisation and development of urban infrastructure in Poland as they contribute significantly to the increase of the quality of life in Polish cities. The EIB loan will help to implement the Warsaw Development Plan with positive implications to the urban environment and economic development of the Polish Capital. »
The EIB, as the European Union's long-term financing institution, has provided in total some EUR 10 billion for projects in Poland since 1990. The EIB finances projects fostering integration of Poland within the EU, especially within the EU Single Market. In addition, it aims at strengthening the competitiveness of Polish regions and cities, and it contributes to the implementation of EU standards in the country.
Since 1994 direct loans to nine major cities in Poland totalled some EUR 500 million. Loans for projects worth approximately EUR 300 million are currently in preparation.