UNIVERSITY OF CRETE - STUDENT ACCOMMODATION PPP

The project concerns the design, construction, financing and operation of student accommodation and other facilities for the University of Crete using the public-private partnership (PPP), design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) procurement method.

The aim is to create student accommodation in areas with acute shortages, providing increased amounts of lower cost accommodation that enables students from lower-income families to access higher education and decreasing living costs for some students in these locations. The project will also create new educational infrastructure to address existing shortages in teaching space. The University of Crete aims to further improve the quality and relevance of the teaching in the higher education sphere, which has been blighted by under investment nationally, in particular during the years following the financial crisis.

The project falls under the social investments eligible area of the Annex II InvestEU Regulation. It addresses a sub-optimal situation with regard to investments in higher education and teaching infrastructure. It creates additional, much needed space in student residences, as well as for teaching activities at the University of Crete, being in line with the European Education Area and the European Research Area. Moreover, the University is located in the less developed & Just Transition Mechanism area of Crete, i.e. outside the main population and educational hubs of Athens and Thessaloniki. Therefore, the success of this project will contribute to better-balanced territorial development, counteracting excessive concentration, strengthening secondary growth poles and reducing inequalities between people and between places.

The Project will be delivered with the PPP procurement method in an effort to better manage construction and operation risks by transferring and sharing them with the private sector. A successful outcome with the assistance of the Bank, its co-lenders and their advisors will strengthen the capacity of the University of Crete to manage complex projects and financing methods diversifying their procurement and related funding options.

The participation of EIB in the Project from the initial steps of the PPP tender, has been seen as important by the University and the PPP Unit of the Greek Ministry of Economy and Finance, due to the technical and financial contribution it would offer. In terms of technical contribution, the Bank has reviewed the technical specifications and encouraged the Promoter to increase its ambition regarding the energy performance of the proposed facilities. Within the same context, design measures related to all other climate change and environmental sustainability objectives were presented. The InvestEU Advisory Hub is providing technical assistance, aiming at providing horizontal support and capacity building in the process of the University's internal preparation to manage the public private partnership (PPP) contract post award. This ability is crucial for maximizing the benefits of a PPP structure.

The participation of EIB assisted the Awarding Authority/Borrower/Sponsor and our Co-Lender to arrange a PPP Project and a PF financing on the basis of sound international principles and practices. This will also help procurement and execution of future PPP Projects in Greece. The financial benefit delivered by the Bank will be shared as per the tender documents between the Private and Public Sector counterparts and is assisting the economic and financial sustainability of the Project at a critical time (due to the inflationary conditions that emerged in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine/Middle East war conflicts).

The project covers facilities of a kind that are not specifically mentioned in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by the Directive 2014/52/EU, though the project is covered by Annex II of the Directive in relation to urban development. The project will be developed in two of the University of Crete campuses, which have been assessed for their impact on the environment, and the competent authorities have issued positive decisions. It includes new buildings which will comply with the 2010/31/EU Directive and will potentially deliver facilities with higher energy performance compared to the nearly zero-energy building (NZEB) requirements in national measures. The project is located in a less developed region as defined by the EU cohesion policy and is expected to support the strengthening of the EU's economic, social and territorial cohesion. The project concerns investments in the accessibility and quality of a university located outside Greece's economic, population and educational hubs of Attica and Central Macedonia, thereby contributing to better-balanced territorial development, counteracting excessive concentration, strengthening secondary growth poles, and reducing inequalities between people and between places.

The promoter has to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project have been tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation, Directive 2014/24/EU, where applicable, as well as Directive 89/665/EEC as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required. Contract notice was published in the OJEU with reference number 2019/S 208-506482.