- The new campuses will provide additional education sites for 1 730 children in the growing Austrian capital
- The new educational buildings will offer excellent energy performance and help to mitigate climate change
The European Investment Bank (EIB), the city of Vienna and a business consortium have started building two new green education campuses for 1 730 children. The Austrian capital is facing strong population growth and therefore needs new schools urgently.
The ground-breaking ceremony on July 19 is the starting point for the third project of the BIENE educational infrastructure programme (BildungsEinrichtungen-Neubauprogramm in German) that the EIB supports, backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)
The new education buildings in Vienna’s Rappachgasse and Landgutstrasse will offer excellent energy performance – 44% lower than the Nearly Zero Energy Building standard for Rappachgasse and as much as 51% lower for Landgutstrasse. The project is therefore in line with the EIB`s climate action goals.
The architectural and the teaching concept of the education campuses will enable new and innovative forms of learning: the campuses combine nursery, kindergarten, primary, lower secondary and special-needs education plus leisure activities in one location.
The project is a public-private partnership. The German Landesbank Helaba acts as co-financer for a company held by a consortium of HYPO NOE, STRABAG Real Estate and Caverion Österreich, the winners of the public tender for the project.
“Education is key for sustainable growth, competitiveness and social inclusion in Europe. The EIB is proud to promote a project that supports social and environmental policy goals and green education buildings,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “Thanks to the positive social impact of this project, it also qualifies for the EIB’s sustainability awareness bonds.”
Sustainability awareness bonds are allocated only to environmental and social projects making a substantial contribution to EU sustainability objectives. In 2018, the EIB was the first issuer to align documentation with EU legislation on sustainable finance.
About the Investment Plan for Europe
The Investment Plan for Europe is one of the European Union’s top priorities to boost investment and to create jobs and growth by making smarter use of existing and new financial resources. Through guarantees from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the EIB Group is able to take on a higher share of project risk, encouraging private finance providers to participate in projects. The projects and agreements approved for financing under EFSI so far are expected to mobilise €546.5 billion in investments and support about 1.4 million startups and small and medium-sized enterprises across all EU Member States.