BARCELONA COVID-19 SOCIAL AND EFFICIENT HOUSING

Construction of approximately 490 social housing units for rent in the City of Barcelona, including ancillary infrastructure and public facilities (e.g. health centre, library, kindergarten).

IMHAB (Institut Municipal de l'Habitatge i Rehabilitació de Barcelona) is aiming at building approximately 490 new social housing units for rental in the City of Barcelona, including ancillary infrastructure and public facilities (e.g. health centre, library, kindergarten). This project is the first operation carried out within the SOCIAL & AFFORDABLE HOUSING Programme Loan (PL) (2020-0655) in Spain. This PL is aimed to support investments in social and affordable housing across the country, in the context of the 2018-2021 National Housing Plan and other regional and local housing plans.

The Project aims to increase the provision of safe, healthy, affordable, well-designed, energy efficient and resilient rental housing for low-income households and vulnerable groups in the city of Barcelona. By providing long maturity loan terms, the Bank facilitates the rapid construction of a greater number of houses, thus helping reduce the pressure faced by this sector in these difficult times. The Project will result in a significant number of positive E&S externalities such as the improved social integration of disadvantaged groups in the local community, and improvement of the urban environment through urban regeneration. The Project contributes fully to climate action.

The EIB's contribution to the project rests on (i) the availability of long maturity which supports the borrower's medium-term investment plans and (ii) terms tailored to the client's needs such as length of grace period and flexible disbursement terms. The Bank's non-financial contribution entails the potential crowding in of other financiers based on recent experience with similar projects. Importantly, the EIB introduces an innovative financing solution for this type of asset by not requiring a mortgage security or by offering a bullet maturity option.

Given the nature, location and size of the schemes included in this operation, none of them is subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) under Directive 2014/52/EU, amending Directive 2011/92/EU, nor requires an assessment under the EU Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and Birds Directive 2009/147/EC. In addition, all the buildings included in the project comply with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2010/31/EU, as transposed into the Spanish legislation.

IMHAB is a public sector entity and as such, it is required to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been/shall be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directive 2014/24/EU where applicable as well as Directives 89/665/EEC and 92/13/EEC) as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the Official Journal of the EU, as and where required.