Brussels, 04/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - According to a statement made by the European Investment Bank (EIB) on Thursday, loans granted by this EU financial institution to Mediterranean Partner countries in 2001 reached a record figure of EUR 1.5 billion. The EIB explained that its loans covered all sectors of the economy over the last six years and that EUR 7.4 billion would be made available for these countries over the next five years.
EIB regional funding in 2001 can be broken down as follows: Algeria - EUR 225 million for constructing a drinking water supply network between the Taksebt dam and Algiers; Cyprus - EUR 50 million for medical equipment in a new hospital in Nicosia; Egypt total of EUR 180 million for the construction of a natural gas-fired power station in Cairo (EUR 150 million) and the funding of small and medium sized businesses (EUR 30 million); Malta EUR 25 million for the funding of small and medium sized businesses; Morocco total of EUR 280 million for the construction of a pumped storage power plant, South West of Casablanca EUR 30 million, the building of two motorways between Sidi El Yamani and Tangiers, as well as between Casablanca and El Jadida (EUR 100 million), the improvement of drinking water supplies in 70 Moroccan towns (EUR 50 million) and the rehabilitation of hydro-agricultural equipment (EUR 40 million) for irrigated areas in the South of the country; Syria EUR 115 million for upgrading medium-voltage power transformer and distribution facilities; Tunisia a total of EUR 225 million to improve and develop the road network around Lake Bizerta, north of Tunis (EUR 30 million), upgrade drinking water supplies to the eastern coastal regions of Sahel and Sfax (EUR 95 million) and finance small and medium-scale ventures mounted by Tunisian enterprises via ten Tunisian banks; EUR 370 million in total for wastewater treatment and sewerage networks in the city of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast (EUR 60 million), urban development in Eskisehir (EUR 110 million), reconstruction of industrial facilities in earthquake-damaged regions (EUR 75 million) and EUR 125 million for financing small and medium-scale ventures through global loans (Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi Tao, Turkiye Sinai Kalkinma Bankasi AS and Sinai Yatirim Bankasi AS).
In 2001, EIB loans for projects furthering the European Union's policy objectives totalled EUR 36.8 billion. The Bank devoted EUR 31.2 billion to schemes in EU Member States and EUR 2.7 billion to those in the Accession Countries of Central and Eastern Europe, whilst its loans in other non-member countries topped EUR 2.6 billion. To finance these operations, the EIB borrowed EUR 32.3 billion on the international capital markets in 148 transactions; after swaps, the euro accounted for 63% of currencies borrowed.