Poolse regio Wielkopolska profiteert als eerste van stadsvernieuwingsfonds JESSICA (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Investeringsbank (EIB) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 29 april 2009.

PRESS RELEASE

BEI/09/67

Poznan/Luxembourg, 29 April 2009

Wielkopolska is first region to benefit from innovative urban renewal instruments (JESSICA)

Today the European Investment Bank i (EIB) and the Board of Directors of the Wielkopolska Region, acting as the Managing Authority for the Wielkopolska Operational Programme, signed in Poznan the first JESSICA Holding Fund Agreement.

The signature took place during a conference entitled “Five Years in Europe”, commemorating the 5th anniversary of Poland joining the EU.

Wielkopolska is the first region in the EU Member States to establish a JESSICA Holding Fund. This fund, to be managed by the EIB, will invest approximately EUR 66 million of the region’s structural fund allocation in urban development funds supporting urban projects with equity, loans or guarantees. Urban projects in Wielkopolska will focus on:

  • - 
    conversion of old or disused industrial buildings
  • - 
    regeneration of post-military and post-industrial areas
  • - 
    revitalisation of old and deprived sites and
  • - 
    investment in business infrastructure.

Ms Marta Gajecka, EIB Vice-President, commented: “I am pleased that Wielkopolska is the first region in Central and Eastern Europe to explore this innovative financial engineering mechanism to support investment in sustainable urban development. The JESSICA programme was created to address a perceived market failure in the urban sector and the scarcity of investment in integrated urban renewal and regeneration projects. In the current economic downturn, when this scarcity is even more evident, JESSICA will increase EU fund absorption and provide additional financing for urban projects, including PPPs, and ensure the sustainability and revolving character of investments in European cities”.

Background:

JESSICA stands for Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas i. This initiative is being developed by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank i in collaboration with the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The EIB has been mandated by the EU through the enactment of EU Structural Funds Regulations to act as a JESSICA Holding Fund on behalf of those Managing Authorities that want to implement JESSICA structures in their constituencies. Acting as a JESSICA Holding Fund for Managing Authorities is therefore an integral part of the Bank’s commitment both to JESSICA and to urban regeneration across Europe.

Press contacts:

Communication Department, Mr Dušan Ondrejicka (d.ondrejicka@eib.org , tel.: +352-4379-83334) or visit the EIB’s website (www.eib.org).

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