An agreement signed yesterday will enable Malta to make use of a €75 million loan facility at preferential rates from the European Investment Bank, which will be used to co-finance various government projects and schemes.
The EIB has also offered to make available a loan of another €50 million which for social housing purposes.
The agreement was signed yesterday afternoon between Finance Minister Edward Scicluna and EIB President Werner Hoyer who is in Malta for the bank’s board meeting, which was held here.
Some of the projects which have benefitted from EIB lending facility in recent years include the Malta-Sicily interconnector project (€100 million) and the City Gate project (€40 million).
Addressing a news conference after the signing of the agreement, EIB President Werner Hoyer spoke about the EIB’s role in supporting member states implement the so-called Juncker plan, aimed to boost investment.
Last year, the EIB together with the European Investment Fund signed the first operation within the SME Initiative in Malta for a total amount of €27 million.
During the board meeting, the EIB directors approved more than €7.3 billion of new loans for investment in strategic infrastructure, the environmental and knowledge economy as well as private sector schemes across Europe and around the world.