The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) will be supported by the EIB in refurbishing the metropolitan building and housing stock to make it more energy efficient and more accessible.  

• EU bank to provide EUR 50 million on favourable terms for refurbishing buildings and housing in municipalities comprising the Barcelona metropolitan area.
• Agreement will reduce polluting gas emissions and help to create more than 1,000 jobs in implementation phase.

The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) will be supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB) in refurbishing the metropolitan building and housing stock to make it more energy efficient and more accessible.  

For this purpose, the EU bank is providing a EUR 50 million loan to AMB enabling a EUR 100 million investment in the refurbishment of around 10,000 housing units located in deprived districts. It is estimated that between 25,000 and 30,000 people will benefit from this initiative

The agreement was signed today in Barcelona by EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and AMB’s Executive Vice-President, Antonio Balmón Arévalo.

This agreement will enable AMB, together with the metropolitan municipalities and the Metropolitan Housing Consortium (CMH), to generate credit lines tailored to the different socioeconomic realities that contribute effectively to the implementation of the refurbishment schemes.

AMB, the metropolitan municipalities and the CMH will drive, develop and manage the schemes in agreement with the different communities of homeowners.

When signing the agreement, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro drew attention to “the agreement’s positive impact on the lives of a great many people, who will be able to access finance on highly favourable terms to refurbish their homes and improve their quality of life. We are delighted to support a project that promotes social cohesion while at the same time helping to combat climate change. Ultimately this is a very good example of one of the EIB’s top priorities in Spain: supporting urban regeneration by fostering efficient energy use and reducing pollutant emissions”.

AMB’s Executive Vice-President, Antonio Balmón, added that “AMB and the metropolitan municipalities have made great efforts to improve the public space and amenities, which are comparable to those of any major European city. Nevertheless, it should be borne in mind that more than half of AMB’s buildings stock is more than 50 years old and that the accessibility problems of 75% of buildings have not been resolved. Consequently, AMB is planning to take the lead in an innovative project designed to facilitate the refurbishment of buildings and housing to increase their comfort and liveability, resulting in housing with a better quality of life. To this end, we will set in motion instruments to finance and manage these schemes that take account of the socioeconomic situation of the homeowners. Ultimately, we want to rethink and improve the city from housing upwards”.

The EIB is financing this project under the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings initiative, which it is promoting alongside the European Commission to provide the necessary financing to support investments in improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Once implemented, this project will enable energy savings of over 20,500 MWh a year. At the same time, it will have a positive impact on employment, helping to create more than 1,000 jobs in the implementation phase up to 2024.

The EIB and climate action

The EU bank is the multilateral institution that provides most finance to combat climate change worldwide, last year devoting more than 29% of its total lending to this priority.