The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) signed a €60 million framework loan agreement with the City of Tampere to finance municipal investments in public infrastructure. Signing were CEB Governor Mr. Rolf Wenzel and the CEO of the Tampere City Group, Mr. Juha Yli-Rajala.
Tampere is Finland’s third largest city with a growing population of almost a quarter of a million inhabitants. Local authorities have put in place a municipal investment strategy covering the period until 2025 and aimed at tackling challenges in the social sector.
The CEB loan, which follows a €60 million loan provided to the City of Tampere in 2016, will be used for the construction or renovation of infrastructure in the area of education, particularly schools and day-care facilities. It will also finance other municipal investments aimed at improving living conditions, such as community services and sports facilities.
By contributing to Tampere’s strategy “Working together for a bright future”, the funds provided by the CEB are expected to bring significant benefits to the wider local community, particularly to young families and families with children, the city’s student population, Tampere’s youth in general, and also the persons of foreign background who have arrived in recent years.
Finland became a CEB member in 1991. To date, CEB loans have helped to mobilise more than €3 billion worth of investments in social housing, educational and health facilities, better living conditions for disadvantaged groups, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and municipal infrastructure throughout the country. In addition to Tampere, the CEB has signed loan agreements with several other cities in the country, including Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo, Turku, and Kuopio.
Original source: CEB
Published on 18 January 2019
