CATALUNYA EDUCATION INFRASTRUCTURE

The project concerns the renovation, extension and new construction of public education facilities in the Autonomous Region of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya - CAT).

The aim is to support different levels of education, from pre-primary to upper secondary education. The exact project scope will be reviewed during appraisal.

The Project comprises the renovation, extension and construction of education facilities in the Region of Catalonia. The new and upgraded infrastructure financed by the EIB will accelerate the modernisation of teaching and learning environments at different levels of education, from pre-primary to upper secondary, which is then expected to translate into improvements in the quality of education, creating positive externalities with significant benefits in the short and long term, mainly in terms of skills development and upgrading but also improved social cohesion and economic growth. The investments targeting climate change mitigation will also have positive externalities, as they contribute to the construction of a more sustainable future. The Project is fully aligned with the national and regional priorities in education as well as with the objectives of the EIB's Innovation, Digital and Human Capital policy goal and the EU's European Education Area 2025 initiative.

EIB's financing provides significant stability to the management of the Borrower's long-term obligations. The EIB will include flexible drawdown terms, longer length of availability period for disbursements, grace periods adjusted to the implementation calendar and possibility to convert/revise interest rates, elements highly valued by public promoters as a key differentiating feature of EIB's financing. 

The project covers education facilities of a kind, which are not specifically mentioned in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU, though the project is covered by Annex II of the Directive in relation to urban development. The EIB's services will verify during the allocation stage whether an EIA is required by the competent authority. The project will contain new construction of public buildings; therefore, compliance with directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance in buildings will be verified during the appraisal. Social and environmental aspects as well as any aspects related to historical and cultural heritage will be verified during the appraisal. The project is expected to contribute to climate action and environmental sustainability (CA&ES) objectives, in particular to climate mitigation and climate adaptation.

The promoter has to ensure that contracts for implementation of the project will be tendered in accordance with the applicable EU procurement legislation, 2014/24/EU 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.