SWANSEA UNIVERSITY

Capital investment programme dedicated to the development of a Science and Innovation Campus to drive regional regeneration in Wales through R&D in collaboration with commercial entities.

The purpose of the project is to develop the physical facilities of Swansea University by constructing a Science and Innovation Campus to drive regional regeneration in the area of knowledge economy.

Universities and research institutions are not specifically mentioned in the EIA Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment. An EIA is, therefore, not required in accordance with the EIA Directive 85/337, amended by 97/11 and by 2003/35/EC. However, parts of the investment cover the construction of new facilities and therefore may be covered by Annex II of the Directive in relation to urban development. The Bank’s services will verify during appraisal whether an EIA is required for any component of the project.

The promoter is required to respect national and European procurement legislation. The Bank requires the promoter to ensure that all relevant contracts for the implementation of the project have been tendered, or will be tendered, in accordance with the relevant EU procurement legislation. The procurement issues will be studied during appraisal.

The loan will be provided under the Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF), which is an innovative credit risk sharing scheme jointly set up by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to improve access to debt financing for private companies or public institutions promoting activities with a higher financial risk profile in the fields of research, technological development, demonstration and innovation investments.