The Ministry for Finance and Employment confirmed that on 11th December 2023 (yesterday), the European Investment Bank (EIB) disbursed the sum of €72 million in the form of a bilateral loan, allocated under the Malta EU Funds Co-Financing Agreement signed in September 2016 for the 2014-2020 programming period.
Under the 14-year loan agreement, carrying a fixed interest rate of 3.71 per cent, the redemption date has been set at 31st August 2037.
An EIB summary sheet providing details behind the loan says it will support Malta's "smart and sustainable" growth by contributing to the achievement of objectives included in the Maltese Partnership Agreement and fixed in the Operational Programme "Fostering a competitive and sustainable economy to meet our challenges" (financed by the ERDF and the CF) and the Operational Programme II "Investing in human capital to create more opportunities and promote the well-being of society" (financed by the ESF).
The EIB would also finance measures targeted at the protection of cultural heritage to enhance their tourism potential as well as the improvement of environmental quality, particularly in the waste and water sectors, and the shift towards a low-carbon economy. The latter aspect is particularly important to address Malta's dependency on imported fossil fuel for energy generation and the low energy performance in buildings. The schemes financed under this operation would therefore include energy efficiency measures and the production of renewable energy from locally available sources.
The EIB loan "will strengthen the sustainable development of Malta through the renewal and expansion of the economic and social infrastructure and, as a consequence, the improvement of economic competitiveness."
The €72 million will see public sector projects and schemes financed in the education, industry, credit lines, services, water & sewage, energy, health and telecom sectors.
The Finance Ministry, in its statement on Tuesday, said more details will be announced shortly.
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