CHAIRMAN of the Bratislava regional government Vladimír Bajan and vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Marta Gajecká signed an agreement on January 10 for an investment loan from EIB of Sk700 million (Ř21 million). The money will be used to co-finance projects on infrastructure modernisation in the Bratislava Region, the SITA newswire wrote.
“I am very satisfied with any project which will help improve infrastructure in Slovak regions, and thus enhance Slovakia’s competitive strength and cohesion within the European Union (EU). At the same time, I believe that this project will be the beginning of very good cooperation with the Bratislava Region,” Gajecká told SITA.
The regional government will be able to draw the funds according to its needs over the period of four years. The funds will be used for transportation, education, culture and the social sphere. Together with its own sources, the Bratislava Region is to spend nearly Sk1.5 billion in cooperation with EIB.
Bratislava is the third Slovak regional government to receive an EIB loan. In 2006, the EIB granted similar framework loans to regional governments of Prešov (Ř39 million) and Košice (Ř42 million), both located in the eastern part of Slovakia.