The European Investment Bank (EIB) is extending a loan of SEK 350 million (ECU 40 million) to finance part of the construction of a new safety centre at Volvo's Torslanda production site in Göteborg, Sweden.The investment will enable Volvo to carry out advanced safety testing on cars, trucks, buses and construction machinery as well as on components of these. The new installations include a dual-track crash unit and a crash simulator. Project completion is expected for mid-2000.
The investment, which is well in line with European Union and EIB criteria as it improves the European car industry's competitiveness, allows Volvo to comply fully with the test requirements laid out in the latest European directives concerning vehicle crash performance. In addition, the safety centre allows Volvo to carry out tests according to US and Japanese requirements as well. The loan to Volvo included, EIB lending in Sweden amounts to some SEK 19 billion for investments in infrastructure and industry. The European Investment Bank (EIB), the financial institution of the EU, contributes by means of long-term loans towards the integration and balanced development of its member countries and countries outside the Union.