- European Investment Bank will provide a €500 million lending facility to the GelreGroen consortium responsible for the new A15-A12 link up in the East of the Netherlands.
- New section finalises direct link between Rotterdam Harbour and German Ruhr area.
- The project also provides dedicated infrastructure for soft mobility by adding a separate-level cycle path on a planned 2.5 km long bridge.
The European Investment Bank will contribute to the financing of the construction and upgrade of the final section of the A12 / A15 motorway in the eastern part of the Netherlands with a €500 million loan to the GelreGroen consortium, who was awarded the contract to design, build, finance and maintain the project over the coming two decades. The project finalises a key cross-country motorway corridor in the Netherlands, linking the Rotterdam harbour to the German border. As such, this stretch of motorway is located on the core TEN-T road network and on the Rhine-Alpine Corridor.
“In our recent Investment Survey, a quarter of Dutch businesses mentioned incomplete transport infrastructure as a barrier to investment. Together with our lending towards sustainable urban and inter-urban mobility, this kind of investment is crucial for Dutch and European competitiveness.” stated EIB vice president Robert de Groot.
On a technical level, the project will see the construction of a 12km section of roadway extending the A15 from Ressen to the A12, the widening of the existing A15 between Valburg and Ressen, as well as a widening of ~11km on the existing A12 road between Duiven and Oud-Dijk. The new 12km extension of the A15 will include a sunken section and bridges over existing infrastructure. On both the A12 and A15 motorways several junctions will be redesigned and reconstructed.
To limit environmental impact as well as to future-proof the new roadway, the construction works feature a range of dedicated climate adaptation measures. This includes a re-enforced sunken section to counter rising ground water levels, and the implementation of increased water reserve areas located near the motorway to further absorb an increase in expected rain falls. The new road will also feature a new 2.5 km bridge spanning a canal and floodplain, which also provides a dedicated path for cyclists on a separate level from the carriageway.
Background information:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Over the last ten years, the EIB has made available more than €27 billion in financing for Dutch projects in various sectors, including research & development, transport, drinking water, healthcare and SMEs.
The EIB is the European Union's bank; the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States, The Netherlands owns a 5.2% share of the EIB. It works closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy and is the world’s largest multilateral borrower and lender. The EIB provides finance and expertise for sustainable investment projects that contribute to EU policy objectives. More than 90% of its activity is in Europe.