EIB approves €1.9B for supporting public transport, private sector in Egypt

LUXEMBURG - 15 July 2020: The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved Wednesday €1.9 billion  to finance projects in Egypt as part of €16.6 billion of new financing dedicated for projects across Europe and around the world.

This includes more than €10 billion of COVID-19-related investment to improve public health, strengthen public services and back investment by companies in sectors hit by the pandemic.

EIB Board, meeting by video conference, also backed investment in climate, transport, clean energy and housing projects in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to the program Egypt will receive €800 million for COVID-19 related business investment in Egypt, along with €1.1 billion of new support that will transform public transport in cities across Egypt. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic may have been largely contained for the time being in Europe, but the number of companies seriously affected by the crisis continues to grow and the number of infected and seriously ill are rising rapidly on other continents, said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.

He said the EIB has worked with hundreds of public and private sector partners around the world to identify where our help is most needed, and we make sure that the money moves quickly. Today’s approvals increase the amount of financing set in motion by the EIB to €19 billion since the beginning of this crisis. 

Later this week "European leaders will discuss how the EIB can further strengthen support for investment essential to reduce the impact of COVID-19, tackle climate change and rebuild a strong and competitive EU economy”, he added.

The Board approved €10.2 billion of new financing to improve the public health response to COVID-19, ensure that key public services can adapt to new challenges and enable companies to survive economic shocks resulting from the pandemic and to invest into their future.

This includes €2 billion to support COVID-19 public health and healthcare investment across Italy and € 1.5 billion to help local authorities in France to better respond to the pandemic.

An additional €1 billion Euros was approved to strengthen the public sector response to COVID-19 in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Slovakia, € 900 million for public and private investment related to COVID-19 challenges across the Western Balkans.