Prague approved a loan of CZK 22.76 billion from the European Investment Bank for metro D
Updates: 17.06.2022 03:41
Released: 17.06.2022, 03:41
Prague – Prague will be able to borrow approximately 22.76 billion crowns from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the construction of the D metro line. The loan will cover about half of the cost of subway construction. It started building the city at the end of April this year.
The EIB has the task of supporting major development projects in the countries of the European Union. “Setting up a loan will make it possible to spread the costs over time and not limit other investment activities and maintenance of the city, as has happened historically, for example with the construction of the Blanka tunnel,” said Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague Sobě). He added that the EIB’s board of directors approved this week.
The city has agreed on a credit line, not details on how to draw money. “We will still vote on the final form, including the documentation,” Vyhnánek said. He previously said that the advantage of the loan is flexibility and will depend on the specific financial situation of the city and the speed of construction of the subway. According to Vyhnánek, Prague will be able to decide how fast it will draw on the loan or for how long it will determine the repayment.
The newest sections of the Prague metro, the extension of line A from Dejvická to Motol, began after years of preparations in May 2010, and the builders began excavating the tunnels in the spring of 2011. The connection opened to passengers in April 2015. The construction cost about 20 crowns. Prague also borrowed from it from the EIB and part of the costs was also covered by European subsidies. Previously, the city built in two stages the extension of route C from the Nádraží Holešovice station, first to Ládví and later to Letňany. The first section was opened in June 2004 and cost almost nine billion CZK. Of this, CZK 4 billion came from a loan from the EIB and over CZK 660 million from bonds. The second section was put into operation in May 2008 and amounted to CZK 15.5 billion. In this case, too, the city used a loan of more than two billion from the EIB.