The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Cassa depositi e prestiti Spa (CDP) today signed in Rome a contract for financing the three-year plan to develop Enel’s distribution network. Under the agreement the EIB will make financial resources of up to EUR 1bn available to the CDP, which will be intended for the power group for carrying out the investments planned over the period 2009-2011 by Enel Distribuzione. The EIB was represented by Dario Scannapieco, Vice-President responsible for financing operations in Italy, Malta and the western Balkans and the CDP by its CEO and Managing Director, Massimo Varazzani.
The loan, which will be for 20 years, is in line with the EIB’s priorities in the energy sector in three ways:
- the investments under the plan will be aimed at improving the overall level of efficiency of the grid;
- they will include connecting up to renewable energy sites, particularly wind farms operated by newcomers to the market;
- the funds will also be used to develop the grid in the regions of southern Italy, an area that comes under the Community’s “convergence objective”.
The operation is a major step forward in cementing relations between the EIB and the CDP at a time when both institutions are committed to mitigating the effects of the international crisis, in particular by identifying new fields of activity and seeking operational synergies.
For the CDP this is an operation that forms part of its day-to-day management activities, namely the financing, via recourse to the market, of works, installations, grids and equipment intended to supply public services.
”This agreement marks a step change in relations between the EIB and Cassa depositi e prestiti, two institutions that are pursuing, albeit with different roles and different instruments, the delicate task of containing the effects of the crisis and financing crucial investment to give a solid structural boost to the economy”, commented Mr Scannapieco. “It is also gratifying to see how our resources will ultimately be used: we have long-standing experience of working closely with Enel which, as a transnational group, is one of the principal users of EIB loans in Europe. The plan to improve the grid will have a major positive impact on employment, a crucial aspect in the extremely difficult times we are going through at the moment”, the EIB Vice-President added.
Mr Varazzani commented, “following the unanimous decision of the CDP’s Board to support Enel’s capital increase, including the Economic and Finance Ministry’s share, this financing operation is a further sign of CDP’s confidence in Enel and its future projects”. “CDP’s recourse to EIB funding”, concluded Mr Varazzani, “confirms the close cooperation between the two long-term institutional investors in favour of growth and economic stability in Italy and Europe”.
Note to editors:
The EIB
The European Investment Bank supports the political and strategic objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically sound projects. The EIB’s shareholders are the 27 EU Member States. Italy is one of the four leading shareholders, along with the United Kingdom, Germany and France, each holding a 16.2% stake in the Bank. Finance provided by the EIB as at end-2008 totalled EUR 355bn, of which EUR 45bn went to Italy.
CDP
Cassa depositi e prestiti is a joint-stock company owned by the Italian Government (70%) and a group of banking institutions (30%) that has a long history, stretching back nearly 160 years. Its remit is to promote national development. CDP finances public investment, infrastructure projects to supply local public services and major works of national importance.