Brussels, 04/12/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 1 December, the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a contract for a long-term loan of €400 million with Fluxys, the independent operator of the natural gas infrastructure in Belgium. Fluxys will use the loan to finance investments in transmission and storage facilities in order to meet rising consumption in Belgium and Europe.
The €400 million EIB loan will help to finance investments by Fluxys in infrastructure over the period 2008 to 2012. The term of the loan is 25 years and a first instalment of €280 million will already be used in 2008. Investments planned by Fluxys for the period 2008-2012 are estimated at €1.4 billion and cover around 20 different projects, including: - pipeline projects to transport natural gas for consumption in Belgium; - pipeline projects to increase capacity along the East-West axis, which will serve both for the transit of natural gas to other countries and the transport of natural gas for consumption in Belgium; - investments in compressor stations, entailing the replacement of existing installations by a more energy-efficient technology and the construction of additional compression installations; - capacity increase of the underground storage facility for natural gas in Loenhout.
The EIB says in a press release that “financing these projects will enable to strengthen Belgium's position as a crossroads for international gas flows”.
From the EIB's point of view, this financing fulfils one of its key aims, which is to support the development of projects for Trans-European Energy Networks (TEN-E), the prime objective being to guarantee the security of energy supply. The EIB has made supporting the energy sector a priority, and spent €6.8 billion on doing this in 2007. (O.L./transl.rt)