The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 125 million to finance social housing in Catalonia. Representatives of the EIB, the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF), La Caixa and the BBVA signed the finance contract today at the headquarters of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
This loan is designed to support the implementation of the Generalitat de Catalunya’s housing plan aimed at facilitating the construction of 12 000 homes to be rented for 10 years, 25 years, and 10 years with the right to buy. The plan is divided into various phases.
The EIB loan will finance the first phase, which consists of the construction of 3 250 social housing units in Catalonia. These are scheduled for completion by the end of 2013 and will include energy efficiency improvements leading to reductions in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and tenants’ electricity bills.
This is the EIB’s second loan for social housing in Catalonia.
This financing operation will take the form of EIB loans to the ICF, La Caixa and the BBVA of EUR 65, 40 and 20 million respectively. These financial institutions will in turn provide loans on advantageous terms to promote social housing.
In 2010 the EIB signed finance contracts in Spain totalling EUR 9.3 billion, making Spain the biggest recipient of EIB loans for the seventh year running.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the long-term financing institution of the European Union promoting EU objectives. Created in 1958, it operates in the 27 EU Member States and more than 130 other countries around the world.