- The EIB will provide a 25-year loan of €72 million for the department’s collèges.
- The collèges will be highly energy efficient following the work, reducing their carbon footprint and making operating cost savings.
- This is the first time the EIB has lent funds to the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Departmental Council of Pyrénées-Atlantiques have signed a 25-year, €72 million finance contract to help modernise educational facilities and adapt them to local demand, with a view to improving the quality of secondary-level education in the department.
This loan will enable Pyrénées-Atlantiques to improve infrastructure at over 12 lower secondary schools (collèges). The project also includes cross-cutting components linked to areas such as the digital transition, improving playgrounds with renaturation work and the installation of solar panels.
The collèges will be highly energy efficient following the work, enabling energy use reduction goals to be achieved and making operating cost savings. Climate change adaptation measures will also be included.
This project is fully in line not only with the department’s education efforts (multiannual investment programme of over €100 million to refurbish collèges), but also with the green transition set out in its low-carbon strategy.
The project is mainly related to the construction, rebuilding and refurbishment of collèges, enabling the department to adapt its network of facilities to changing local demand. This investment will make school infrastructure more resilient to climate risk and school buildings more energy efficient. The aim is to provide welcoming spaces with facilities meeting the needs of secondary school pupils, thereby improving the learning environment at these institutions.
The project will benefit around 4 760 registered lower secondary pupils in the department (22.5% of all collège pupils in the department), and over 50 000 m2 of educational facilities will be built, extended or refurbished.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle said: “Investing in education is a priority for the European Investment Bank. We are very proud that the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department has entrusted us with providing financing support for its public infrastructure for young people, contributing to the climate transition of collèges by ensuring better energy efficiency.”
Background information
About the European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its 27 Member States. It provides loans to the public and private sectors for sound investment contributing to EU policy goals. In 2023, France received more EIB financing for the energy and green transition than any other country, with an overall investment of €6.9 billion for renewable energy, clean mobility and energy efficiency. As the partner of regional authorities, the EIB allocated over €900 million to the education sector in 2023, a huge increase on the previous year. In secondary education, it signed finance contracts for school construction and renovation projects for lower secondary schools in five departments and upper secondary schools in Île-de-France.