Spain: EIB loans for rail safety installations and port facilities

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted a EUR 180 million loan to Adif Alta Velocidad for financing investment in signalling and safety systems and a EUR 50 million loan to Puertos del Estado for financing small and medium-scale investments carried out by different port authorities in the period 2014-2018.

The loan agreements were signed at the Ministry of Public Works by Minister Ana Pastor, EIB Vice-President Román Escolano, Adif Alta Velocidad’s CEO Gonzalo Ferre and Puertos del Estado’s CEO José Lorca.

At the signing ceremony the EIB Vice-President described the operations as “a further demonstration of the excellent cooperation between the European Investment Bank and the Spanish authorities to upgrade Spain’s infrastructure, resulting in major efficiency and safety improvements for users of the country’s transport networks.” He went on to stress that the operations would serve to strengthen the single market and connections with other markets thanks to the increased development of the multimodal network.

The loan to Adif Alta Velocidad will serve to extend the use of the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), leading to major improvements in interoperability, safety, reliability and capacity on more than 800 km of railway lines.

The investments carried out by the different port authorities will be mainly aimed at improving interoperability between transport modes and making efficiency gains in ports.