Spain: creation of first JESSICA urban development fund in Andalusia

The European Investment Fund (EIB) and the Government of Andalusia today announced the creation of an urban development fund (UDF) for supporting urban regeneration in Andalusia in the framework of the EU’s JESSICA initiative. The UDF will be managed by BBVA.

The operational contract was signed in Seville this morning by EIB Vice-President Magdalena Álvarez Arza, BBVA’s Territorial Director (south), Agustín Vidal-Aragón de Olives, and BBVA’s BEC Regional Director (south), Juan de Ortueta Montfort, in the presence of the Government of Andalusia’s Minister for the Economy, Innovation and Science, Antonio Ávila Cano.

EIB Vice-President Magdalena Álvarez Arza stressed that “this first urban development fund will serve to finance urban regeneration projects that will contribute to the sustainable development of cities and the improvement of people’s living conditions and quality of life while fostering job creation.”

The Minister for the Economy, Innovation and Science, Antonio Ávila, emphasised that “Andalusia is the first Spanish and one of the first European regions – alongside the Polish regions of Wielkopolska and West Pomerania, and London – to implement this initiative.”

BBVA’s Regional Director (south), Agustín Vidal-Aragón de Olives, said that “JESSICA is an effective model that is well designed to foster viable and sustainable projects that people want and is in line with BBVA’s vision of “Working for a better future”. It is a forward-looking model that will definitely serve as a benchmark for other initiatives, especially at a time when actions like this are vital to beat the credit crunch.”

JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) is an initiative developed by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank together with the Council of Europe Development Bank that enables the Member States to use part of their EU grants (the so-called structural funds) to make refundable investments in the urban environment. 

This first UDF in Andalusia is being set up in accordance with the agreement between the Government of Andalusia and the EIB to implement the JESSICA initiative, which also resulted in the creation of a regional JESSICA office.

This first UDF is initially endowed with EUR 40.3 million from Andalusia’s JESSICA holding fund, which will be supplemented by finance provided by BBVA for each urban project. The funds will made available in the form of long-term loans for urban projects that form part of integrated sustainable urban development plans and are brought forward by public-private partnerships or directly by public or private sector promoters.

The fund will make it possible to provide finance for urban development and regeneration projects in areas such as the creation of cultural, tourism and social/educational facilities, transport and mobility, the restoration of cultural heritage, the rehabilitation of former industrial sites and the provision of common urban spaces for SMEs and innovation.  The projects will be spread throughout the region.

The European Investment Bank is the EU’s long-term financing institution promoting European objectives. Founded in 1958, it operates in the 27 EU Member States and more than 130 other countries around the globe.