Port of Barcelona to receive EIB warehousing loan

Funded by the Juncker Plan, the 75 million euro European Investment Bank loan will enable the port to expand warehousing space by 1 million square meters and create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to a statement from the European Commission.    The logistics zone of the Port of Barcelona will receive a 75 million euro (U.S. $82.3 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance the construction of new logistics and warehousing facilities, the European Commission said in a statement. 
   The loan was agreed upon with the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), which is “the central pillar of the European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe, the so-called ‘Juncker Plan,’” said the EC. The loan will provide funding for the construction of additional warehouse space, increasing storage capacity at the Spanish Mediterranean port by 1 million square meters over the course of the next two years.
   By expanding warehouse capacity, the Port of Barcelona will keep pace with growing demand and reduce costs in the management of transport connections and the application of energy efficient measures, the commission said. The project will create 4,000 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs in the logistics and transport sectors.
   “The EIB financing for this project will help to facilitate investments at the Port of Barcelona that will generate sustainable economic growth and employment throughout the area,” EIB Vice President Román Escolano said at a signing ceremony in Barcelona. “The project’s impact will also reach the Mediterranean Corridor, which will benefit from both the expansion of logistics at this major port and the increase in its services offer enabling it to access more customers.”
   Alfonso Martínez, director general of CILSA, operator of the ZAL Port at the Port of Barcelona stated that, “this new EIB backing for the ZAL Port project will enable us to carry out 100 percent of our development plans for the next four years, turning us into the benchmark logistics zone of the Mediterranean.”
   According to the European Commission, the Juncker Plan “focuses on boosting investments to create jobs and growth by making smarter use of new and existing financial resources, removing obstacles to investment and providing visibility and technical assistance to investment projects.” The EFSI provides a first-loss guarantee, allowing EIB to invest in riskier projects. The projects and agreements already approved under EFSI are expected to generate more than 183 billion euro (U.S. $199 billion), according to the commission.