EIB signs further €50 million loan with Sofia Municipality

The EIB has worked closely with Bulgaria since 1992 and has supported its economy with around €5.7 billion to date.

The signature of a loan by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a further €50 million for Sofia Municipality was celebrated today. The loan will co-finance Sofia’s multi-year investment programme of urban development projects, including the construction and rehabilitation of municipal roads, tramways, cycling and walking paths and other urban infrastructure within the scope of the Bulgarian capital’s current Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP).

In particular, the loan will enable Sofia Municipality to expand the share of urban development projects focused on pedestrian mobility infrastructure and contributing to green objectives within the overall project scope.

This will improve the everyday lives of locals, including people with reduced mobility, and contribute to cleaner air.

EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova remarked, “The EIB is a longstanding partner of Sofia Municipality, financing priority public infrastructure investments. The Bank has supported a number of projects, including to develop the metro, rehabilitate the urban road network, re-equip the public transport fleet, and create integrated waste treatment facilities and other urban and social infrastructure. We also provide advisory services for project preparation and implementation. As the EU Climate Bank, we have always shown our support with a clear vision of the green and sustainable future that we all hold as an ideal.”

Yordanka Fandakova, Mayor of Sofia, added, “We have created a special programme for the construction and renovation of sidewalks, which we aim to renew in all parts of Sofia. This is one of the most important investments in our neighbourhoods, and will enable us to multiply pavement repair efforts more than ten times over. Ultimately, we aim to make travelling short distances through the city more pleasant for all, as well as more convenient, comfortable, safe and accessible for mothers with strollers and people with disabilities. Encouraging pedestrian traffic is also important for improving air quality.”

The EIB has worked closely with Bulgaria since 1992 and has supported its economy with around €5.7 billion to date.