>@Tim Smit/Vasakronan
©Tim Smit/ Vasakronan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will make up to EUR 200 million available to Swedish real estate company Vasakronan, for the construction of a “nearly zero-energy building” (NZEB) in Gothenburg and the refurbishment of a building complex in Stockholm to NZEB standards.

“We’re proud to support Vasakronan’s initiative because climate action is high on the agenda for the European Investment Bank.” said Romualdo Massa Bernucci, Director for EIB lending in the Nordic countries. “The EU Directive on the energy performance of buildings means that both residential and office buildings will have to meet challenging standard in the near future. Since buildings are generally responsible for a large part of the CO2 output, making them more energy efficient is an important step in mitigating our environmental footprint in large cities.”

Specifically, the loan will support a building and refurbishment project with a total cost of EUR 437 million. One part comprises of the construction of the new “Platinan” building close to Gothenburg’s central railway station, while the other will see the refurbishment to NZEB standards of the “Sergelhuset” complex in the Norrmalm area of central Stockholm.  

“The financing from EIB is very competitive, and because the Bank analyses the projects it funds very thoroughly, the loan is a quality stamp for Vasakronan’s brand.” Said Fredrik Wirdenius, CEO of Vasakronan. “Furthermore, every loan process involves a high degree of collaboration between treasury, sustainability experts and technical staff. Consequently, new questions arise which provide us with new perspectives and insights that further drive engagement.”

With climate action as a main priority for the EIB, Vasakronan’s initiative in constructing and refurbishing to NZEB standards fits perfectly with the Bank’s strategy and comes after a number of similar projects that the EIB supported recently in Sweden, Finland and Germany.