Brussels, 09/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 8 February, the Regional Council of Moravia-Silesia and the European Investment Bank (EIB) established a €20 million fund to finance urban development projects in Moravia-Silesia, spearheading deployment of EU funds via financial engineering instruments in the Czech Republic. “The investment will make it possible to put urban brownfields to new use, marking a further step on Moravia-Silesia's successful path of reinventing itself as a dynamic, knowledge-based economy”, the EIB states.
The €20 million holding fund is focused on: - the re-utilisation of urban brownfields; - providing EIB assistance to Moravia-Silesia to invest EU structural funds as revolving capital; - and enhancing the economic potential and quality of city life in a highly industrial region.
The holding fund is a “fund of funds” (FoF) and has been created in the framework of JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas), a joint initiative of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank. As part of the Regional Operational Programme for Moravia-Silesia, the holding fund has an initial size of €20 million, comprising €17 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and €3 million of Czech national co-financing. Unlike the traditional use of grants, the holding fund will serve as a source of loans, guarantees and equity financing for integrated sustainable urban development projects. Amounts repaid from these projects will be available for further re-investment in the region.
Given the large amount of post-industrial brownfield sites in Moravian-Silesian cities, the primary focus of the JESSICA holding fund will be to support the conversion of brownfields into areas ready for subsequent development for economic purposes. Other possibilities include supporting the construction or refurbishment of campus dormitories and revitalisation of cultural monuments in cities.