The European Investment Bank (EIB) is set to finance the modernisation of Grupo Ruiz’s bus fleet by facilitating EUR 27.5 million for the introduction of 173 safer, less polluting and more modern vehicles.
EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and Grupo Ruiz CEO Gregorio Ruiz signed the agreement in Madrid. This project is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.
The EIB support will enable Grupo Ruiz to replace more polluting diesel buses with 32 electric and 141 compressed natural gas alternatives. The new vehicles will provide public transport services in Madrid, Majorca, Badajoz, Toledo, Salamanca and Murcia, covering both urban and intercity lines. They will enter service over the next two years and will help to improve air quality in these cities. Grupo Ruiz’s EIB-financed investments include the construction of three new electric charging stations in Badajoz, Alcudia and Palma de Mallorca.
Since 2016, the EU bank and the European Commission have been implementing a joint initiative dedicated to financing cleaner transport (the Cleaner Transport Facility). It has been helping many Spanish cities to swap their older, more polluting diesel vehicles for new hybrid, electric or latest generation compressed natural gas replacements. This new agreement is the fifth to be financed by the EIB in Spain under this initiative, for which it has provided almost EUR 230m.
The project is being supported by the Investment Plan for Europe, whose guarantee makes it possible for the EIB to provide financing on favourable terms to support investments whose structure or nature means that they contribute to boosting economic growth and employment. In this case, the EIB-financed investments will facilitate the creation of 360 jobs during the project’s implementation phase.
During the signing ceremony in Madrid, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro, who is responsible for the Bank’s climate action and operations in Spain, said: “Supporting sustainable public transport that cuts polluting emissions is among the EIB’s key priorities. As the EU climate bank, we are determined to dedicate more resources to supporting investments promoting climate action while also generating economic growth and jobs. This project is a good example of this, and also shows the positive impact of EIB financing on people’s lives, helping to improve air quality in our cities.”
The EIB is among the world’s largest multilateral providers of climate finance. The Bank’s goal is to be a leader in mobilising the finance needed to keep global warming under 2°C and to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C in order to meet the Paris Agreement objectives. On 14 November, the EIB Board of Directors approved its new climate objectives and the new energy lending policy. The Bank will gradually increase its financing for climate and environmental objectives up to 50% by 2025, with the goal of ensuring that the EIB Group mobilises at least EUR 1tn by 2030 to promote investments helping to meet these objectives. It also announced its intention to align all EIB Group activities with the Paris Agreement. To this end, the EIB will cease financing fossil fuel-based projects from late 2021.
Original source: EIB
Published on 09 January 2019
