The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending almost PLN 140 million (approx. EUR 37 million) to the City of Gdansk for priority small and medium-sized investment schemes to improve the municipal transport and environmental infrastructure.
EIB funds will help to implement the City of Gdansk’s investment programme for the period to 2009, which is focused on urban rehabilitation, the promotion of economic development, improving the quality of life of the citizens and strengthening the competitiveness of this important Polish port. This project, the Bank’s first operation with the City of Gdansk, supports the rehabilitation of municipal infrastructure and community facilities as well as urban renewal.
Since 1994, EIB loans to Polish cities have exceeded EUR 700 million. Direct lending to Polish municipalities and Voivodships is the EIB’s priority, as it provides the relevant authorities with the funds needed for the implementation of projects that are important for promoting integration into the EU’s single market in particular, and for the application of European standards, especially with regard to the environment.
Note for the editor:
The prime objective of the EIB, the European Union’s long-term financing institution, is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the Member States by financing sound investments.
Since the start of its operations in the new Member States in 1990, the EIB has provided more than EUR 40 billion for projects fostering European integration in these countries. As such, the EIB is the most significant external source of financing in this region. EIB loans in Poland have exceeded EUR 13 billion over this period.