Cyprus signs EUR 80 mln infrastructure and education loan with EIB

Cyprus Minister of Finance Iacovos Keravnos and Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Gerlando Genuardi signed an agreement for a EUR 80 mln loan on Friday, to finance projects and programmes co-financed by the EU cohesion and structural funds.

“By co-financing investment programmes, mainly small-sized investments with the structural funds and the cohesion funds, we will together put special emphasis on social and economic cohesion, on environment, on the development of human capital, the main priorities of the EU,” Genuardi said.

Keravnos said the loan will help finance programmes to strengthen the rural economy, to rejuvenate the urban sector, enhance and modernise the public sector labour force, adapt the skills of current workers, new recruits and the unemployed to the needs of the labour market, promote equal opportunities and the access of women to the labour market.

It will also utilise new technologies through life-long learning, enhance and strengthen secondary and technical education, provide technical assistance, and take measures to upgrade the fishery sector.

‘This specific loan, amounting up to 80 million euros, is of major importance because it concerns the financing of projects and programmes which are co-financed by the structural funds and cohesion funds,’ he said.

Genuardi said that the EIB was confident “that the implementation will be successful and the citizens of the country will concretely perceive the benefits of the new investment.’

This was the third visit by Genuardi to Cyprus in the past 20 months. During the period since 1978, the EIB has lent a total of EUR 1.3 bln for investments in the various sectors of the economy.