Brussels, 03/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced on Thursday 29 September that it is to lend €125 million to finance the refurbishment of 365 multi-storey residential buildings in the Sector 1 Municipality of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, to improve energy efficiency. The reduction of atmospheric pollution, particularly CO2 emissions, through energy savings in the refurbished buildings, will help mitigate climate change.
The EIB loan will finance up to 75% of the programme's investment cost covering thermal refitting, including the thermal insulation of walls, windows, roofs and cellars of multi-family residential buildings with some 20,000 flats. The additional funding to complete this multi-annual programme will come from the Municipality's own funds. The planned completion date for the refurbishment is 2014. Energy consumption in the buildings is expected to be reduced by around 50% and the total energy saved will amount to approximately 190 GWh per year once the programme is fully completed. In December 2010 the Bank signed a finance contract of €70 million with the Municipality of Sector 6 Bucharest to implement a similar thermal rehabilitation project and other similar projects are in the pipeline. (O.L./transl.rt)