EIB announces EUR 750 million to help Portugal after storms

A president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Nadia Calviño, today announced a package of EUR 750 million to support the recovery and reconstruction of the areas affected by the storms that hit Portugal last winter.

“ We are already implementing the package to support the recovery and reconstruction of areas affected by the extreme weather events of last winter,” said the head, during the commemorative session of the 50 years of the EIB Group in Portugal, which took place at the Ministry of Finance in Lisbon.

According to Nadia Calviño, “this package, worth EUR 750 million, will be divided between support for municipalities, for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and equipment, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises and medium-sized enterprises”.

Portugal was hit earlier this year by a series of storms, including Kristin, which caused significant damage to housing, businesses, infrastructure and public equipment, especially in the Central Region, leading the government to declare the disaster situation in several municipalities.

In April, the Government submitted a request to the European Commission to support the European Union Solidarity Fund, following the damage caused by the storms that hit the country between 22 January and 15 February, estimated at more than 5.3 billion euros.

In today’s speech, to the President of the Republic, António José Seguro, Nadia Calviño presented five financing and investment initiatives in Portugal, “one for every decade of the institution’s presence in the country”.

Among the announcements was also a new loan of EUR 300 million to support the construction and rehabilitation of houses in Portugal, especially in the private sector, through the Financial Instrument for Urban Rehabilitation and Revitalisation (IFRRU).

According to the person responsible, this funding, together with the two previous packages for affordable and social housing, will raise the funding of the European bank to the housing sector in Portugal to about EUR 3 billion over a period of two years, covering the construction or rehabilitation of 70,000 dwellings.

Nadia Calviño also announced a new financing project for the expansion and modernisation of the Lisbon Metropolitan, including the acquisition of new rolling stock, the updating of signalling systems and the extension of the Red Line.

She also mentioned a new guarantee with the General Deposit Box (CGD) to support SMEs and mid-caps and, finally, Nadia Calviño announced the launch in the coming weeks of the second phase of the European Technology Champions Initiative to support the growth of European technology companies.

According to the person responsible, this second phase will be four times larger than the previous one, will allow the number of megafunds to be tripled and will also be open to private institutional investors.

“ They can count on the European Investment Bank Group to help build 21st century Portugal,” he said.

The president of the EIB also highlighted Portugal's economic and social transformation over the past five decades and the institution's contribution to projects such as Ponte Vasco da Gama, Lisbon and Porto metropolitan networks and water supply infrastructure.

It recalled that the EIB started its activity in Portugal in 1976, ten years before its accession to the then European Communities, with a first loan to finance a thermoelectric plant in Setúbal.

Nadia Calviño ended the intervention by evoking a song by Portuguese musician Jorge Palma, A Gente Vai Continue, reaffirming that Portugal can continue to count on the support of the institution.

“ They can count on us to continue this path together”, he concluded.