December 10 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to extend 300 million euro ($342.3 million) loan to Croatia in the second and final portion of a 600 million euro financing designed to speed up the implementation of Cohesion Policy projects, the lender said.
The loan will be used as national contribution in EU-funded priority projects in Croatia and enables the country to implement projects worth 8.1 billion euro in areas like infrastructure, environment and research and development (R&D), the EIB said in a statement on Friday.
"As the EU bank, the EIB is proud to support the economic and social development of Croatia through Structural Program Loans. The results of the first portion are an excellent example of the positive impact the EU has on its citizens," the vice president of the EIB, Dario Scannapieco, said.
The first portion of the loan, signed in 2015, helped the Croatian government to kick off many projects in the field of road and water infrastructure, healthcare and education, the bank noted.
"This loan represents a continuation of a successful project of co-financing EU funded priority projects in Croatia and signals strong commitment of the Croatian Government in boosting national economy by enhancing utilization of EU funds. The design of this instrument leverages achieving these goals through its flexibility, financial attractiveness and its substitution of domestic budget component," finance minister Zdravko Maric said in the statement.
($ = 0.8766 euro)