Poland: EIB completes first public-sector EFSI transaction

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has extended a PLN 238m (around EUR 57m) loan to finance the rehabilitation of a hospital in the city of Torun, Poland – the first public-sector transaction in the country benefitting from the EU budget guarantee under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI).  

The EIB funds will co-finance the reconstruction and fitting-out of the Rydygier Hospital, which is owned and managed by the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region. The project is part of an investment programme focused on achieving the technical and professional hospital standards required by Polish and European law.

EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák stated: “This transaction is significant in two respects: it is the first EFSI public-sector project in Poland as well as a model for combining EFSI financing with EU grant support in the innovative form of a financial instrument. This is a pioneering project, which is likely to be followed by other sub-sovereigns, and should be an inspirational case-study for other regions or Member States”.

European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: "The upgrading of the Rydygier Hospital is very good news for the residents of Torun and the surrounding area. The Investment Plan for Europe is committed to financing projects in the health and social sectors, and today's signature is proof of that. I encourage other project promoters in Poland to contact the European Investment Bank to seek finance for their investment projects."

It is the third EIB loan to the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region for financing upgrades to the local health infrastructure. The borrower is a special-purpose company, Kujawsko-Pomorskie Inwestycje Medyczne Sp. z o.o., created by the Region in 2009.