Today in Naples, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Grimaldi Compagnia di Navigazione Spa signed a contract for a EUR 80 million direct loan to finance the expansion of the Italian shipping group’s fleet. This is the second tranche of a total EUR 250 million EIB loan to the Grimaldi group approved last year.
For Grimaldi, the purpose of the operation is to buy a Fincantieri-built Cruise Europa ferry for use on its Italy-Greece routes.
For the EIB, the operation is in line with the policy of investing in the so-called "Motorways of the Sea", maritime links for goods and passenger traffic providing alternatives to road and air transport. By reducing pollution and giving a boost to direct and indirect employment, especially in assisted areas of southern Italy, the project meets the requirements of the EIB’s financing policy.
The overall loan of EUR 250 million will help finance the acquisition of four Cruise Ferries with a total cost of around EUR 580 million. The first tranche of EUR 81 million, channelled through the Unicredit group a year ago, funded the purchase of a Cruise Barcelona ferry, which has been in service on the Civitavecchia-Barcelona route since mid-September 2008. The tranche signed today is the first to be granted directly by the EIB to the Grimaldi.
With a capacity of 2 140 passengers and 3 600 linear metres of cargo, the Cruise Ferries built for Grimaldi are the biggest goods and passenger transport vessels in use in the Mediterranean. They have cutting-edge environmental specifications and will enable a 40% reduction of CO2 emissions compared to road and air transport.
Note:
The European Investment Bank supports the strategic and policy objectives of the European Union by granting long-term loans for economically viable investment 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. At end-2008, the EIB’s total financing amounted to EUR 355bn, of which EUR 45bn went to Italy.