November 17 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it is lending 51 million euro ($60.1 million) to Slovenian motorway company DARS to finance the introduction of an electronic tolling system for vehicles above 3.5 t using the country’s motorway network.
This is the EIB’s first direct transaction in Slovenia under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) as part of the Investment Plan for Europe (Juncker Plan) backed by the EU budget portfolio guarantee, the EIB said in a statement on Thursday.
The new tolling infrastructure that state-owned DARS plans to introduce will replace physical barriers with free-flow, remote charging digital infrastructure on the entire Slovenian motorway network.
Roads, including motorways, are the most important mode of transport in Slovenia accounting for 80% of inland transport, the EIB noted.
This project represents a continuation of the EU bank’s cooperation with DARS. To date, the EIB has granted loans to this company amounting to some 1.5 billion euro, contributing significantly to the construction and maintenance of the country’s motorway network and fostering economic growth.
The EIB loan will benefit from the EFSI guarantee and will possibly catalyse further financial support from the Slovenian National Promotional Bank (SID banka) as well as commercial banks.
($=0.848185 euro)