The European Investment Bank is lending EUR 20
million(
1) to the
City of Torun
in Northwestern Poland to upgrade the drinking water and
wastewater networks and other schemes. The EIB loan is
granted for 20 years and will help reduce pollution and
health hazards, and generally raise life quality for a
population of some 200 000.
Torun is an old Hanseatic city and the birthplace of
Copernicus. Thanks to its historic, cultural and
architectural value the city was added to the UNESCO
World Heritage List in 1997. The investments are
important for developing tourism and generally widen the
basis for economic development of the region. They will
bring environmental benefits to the Vistula River and
ultimately to the Baltic Sea. The European Commission may
also participate in the financing under its new grant
programme ISPA specifically designed for environmental
and transport schemes.
Since 1990 the EIB lent EUR 2.9 billion to projects in
Poland, more than in any other Central European country.
About 1 billion went to Trans-European road and rail
networks (TENs), including some EUR 500 million for
upgrading the major international East-west railway line.
Telecommunications, gas and industry schemes were also
financed. Small and medium-scale industrial and energy
investments are being furthered through global loans
(credit lines) to commercial banks established in Poland.
The EIB also helped with the reconstruction of
infrastructure damaged during the 1997 floods in Silesia.
Since 1990, the EIB has lent some EUR 11 billion to
projects in the ten Central European EU applicants:
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria. In
addition, the Bank also participates in the
reconstruction of the Balkans where projects were already
financed in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegowina and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The EIB plans to
double its lending in Central and Eastern Europe to an
annual EUR 4 billion over the coming years.
For further information, please contact
the EIB's Information and Communications Department (Mr. Max Messner, tel.: +352 43 79
31 50, e-mail: m.messner@eib.org).
(1) 1 EUR = 0.613400 GBP; 4.03350
PLN.
