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The lending envelope concerns financing of the construction, extension, renovation and rehabilitation of higher level education institutions in Poland and the Baltic States.
The programme loan would finance the construction, extension, renovation and rehabilitation of a selected number of university premises in Poland and the Baltic States. The main objective is to provide better learning conditions for students, as well as improved working and research conditions for university staff, by creating additional capacity in academic and research buildings and by renovating existing spaces that are no longer fit for purpose. These investments are also aimed at adapting infrastructures to new technologies, providing additional or modernised student accommodation, improving accessibility for people with disabilities, and also improving the energy efficiency of buildings. All building construction and renovation projects will be energy efficient and will follow energy efficiency standards. The final beneficiaries for this project are current and future students as well as university staff.
The proposed Lending Envelope (LE) provides additional financial resources for the refurbishment and new construction of infrastructures for higher education and research activities as well as student support. The LE therefore responds to various needs of the innovation systems of Poland and the Baltic states, most notably the supply of highly skilled graduates and the performance of state-of-the-art basic research.
The projects financed under the LE create positive externalities as they will promote access to high-quality public higher education, which benefits society and the broader economy, mainly in terms of skills development and upgrading. The LE also addresses a market failure regarding the financing of infrastructure for early-stage R&D activities performed by public institutions. Additionally, the LE is expected to include investments targeting climate change mitigation, which will have significant positive externalities as they contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The EIB financing will be offered on conditions normally not available on the market for higher education and research institutions. Longer maturities and drawdown flexibility will match the financial and investment needs of these institutions allowing them to diversify their lending possibilities.
The Directive 2011/92/EU amended by 2014/52/EU does not specifically mention the need for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for buildings relating to education, but it may be that some sub-projects can be regarded as urban renewal projects (Annex II of the European Directive). This will be verified for each sub-operation during the appraisal. Directive 2010/31/EU amended in 2018 by Directive (EU) 2018/844 on the Energy Performance of Buildings will be checked during appraisal for each sub-operation on a case-by-case basis. The possible impact on natural sites will be checked during the appraisal of each sub-operation. The project is expected to contribute to climate action and environmental sustainability (CA&ES) objectives, in particular to climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
The Bank will require the promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project shall be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation, Directive 2014/24/EU as well as Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.