- EU bank lends Madrid Region EUR 49 million to build 612 affordable rental flats
- Energy efficiency: half of new units will be low consumption homes and a further 1,337 will be renovated to reduce energy costs
- Support for upgrading Madrid Metro: EIB provides EUR 50 million for improving Madrid’s suburban rail services
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing the Madrid Region with a EUR 49 million loan to finance the construction of new affordable rental housing and improvement of the energy efficiency and accessibility of the existing social housing stock. The loan agreement was signed today in Madrid by EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and the Madrid Region’s Transport, Housing and Infrastructure Minister, Rosalía Gonzalo, and Economy, Employment and Finance Minister, Engracia Hidalgo.
The EU bank is providing a loan on favourable interest rate and maturity terms for increasing the availability of rented social housing in Madrid through the construction of 612 flats. Half will be “near zero energy homes”, with very low energy consumption, below 40KWH per m², thanks to their design and the materials used in their construction.
The EIB will also support the urban regeneration of more than 153,000 square metres of the city by financing investment in improving the energy efficiency and accessibility of 1,337 flats forming part of the Region’s social housing stock. These improvements will reduce these units’ energy costs by around 30%.
The project will benefit parts of the city with bigger demand for social housing, like Fuencarral, Hortaleza, Carabanchel and Vallecas. It will also reach as far as municipalities in the Sierra Norte region with the aim of attracting people and stopping the rural exodus.
Upon signing the agreement, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro said: “This project is a good example of one of the EIB’s top priorities: fostering urban regeneration to improve people’s lives and contribute to the fight against climate change by upgrading the energy efficiency of buildings. We are therefore pleased to join forces with the Madrid Region to support a project with a twofold impact – social and environmental – that will help families on low incomes to obtain housing while at the same time lowering the energy costs faced by residents and reducing pollutant gas emissions”.
The EIB is financing this project under the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings initiative, which it is promoting alongside the European Commission to provide the necessary financing to support investments in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. More than 700 jobs will be created during the project’s implementation phase up to 2023.
Upgrading of Madrid Metro
The EU bank also signed a EUR 50 million loan agreement with Metro de Madrid to finance investment in the upgrading and refurbishment of Madrid’s suburban rail network.
This is the second instalment of a total loan of EUR 200 million granted by the EIB under the Investment Plan for Europe that will finance 23 schemes to upgrade stations, trains and tracks with the aim of improving the services, energy efficiency and safety of Madrid’s metro system.
Climate action and support for public transport
The European Investment Bank is the multilateral institution that provides most finance to combat climate change worldwide, last year devoting more than 29% of its total lending, or EUR 16.1 billion, to this priority. Part of this amount focused on promoting cleaner modes of transport and particularly on supporting improvement of the metro networks of various cities around the world.
Photographer: Lorenzo Squintani ©EIB
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