EIB provides Finnish transport loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a loan of €100 million for the extension of the West metro in Espoo, Finland.

The first loan (€100 million) is part of the overall spend by the EIB for the West metro project, which will total €450 million, with the remaining €350 million to be signed over the course of 2017.

Werner Hoyer, president of the EIB, believes improving local transport is good way of improving people’s lives. He said, “If citizens can travel faster and more comfortably, that improves their lives, even if they don’t always realise it.”

Meanwhile, Jukka Mäkelä, Mayor of Espoo, said, “The West Metro extension in Espoo is not only an investment in public transport but also an investment for the whole area.

“The West Metro’s growth and development corridor links up the southern part of the city and connects the whole area to the metropolitan area of Helsinki.”

The EIB’s support for this second phase of the extension comes on the back of a previous €450 million loan provided in 2011 for the first phase of the West Metro, which will enter into service in early 2017.

The extended track will have a total length of 7km, adding five stations to the line between Matinkylä and Kivenlahti in Espoo.