The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Sofia Municipality have signed a €60 million framework loan to promote sustainable urban mobility in Bulgaria’s capital. The EIB financing supports Sofia Municipality’s objective to develop an environmentally sustainable transport system that improves the everyday life of its people.
In line with the objectives of the General Development Plan of the City of Sofia and the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan of Sofia 2019-2035, the EIB will finance projects that include the construction and rehabilitation of sections of the road and street network, parts of the tramway, and walking and cycling infrastructure. In addition, public transport projects such as buses and the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure can be supported.
EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova commented: “As the fastest-growing city in Bulgaria, Sofia is facing the challenge of continuing its growth in an environmentally sustainable way. At the EIB, we are very pleased to sign this loan that will support sustainable mobility projects and improve the everyday life of people in Sofia. Our financing will boost employment, improve air quality and make Sofia a safer and faster place to move around.”
Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova commented: “The European Investment Bank is a reliable partner of Sofia, which stands behind our largest infrastructure projects. With the current construction program we will build missing sections of the inner city road network, which will remove traffic from the city center, reduce congestion and contribute to cleaner air. With the projects for construction of T. Kableshkov buld. and Filip Kutev blvd. we will improve the mobility in the most densely populated southern neighborhoods, and with the planned boulevards in the northern part of the city, we will give them a new impetus for development. A flagship project for Sofia is the “Green Ring”, which will connect large neighborhoods of the city with bicycle and pedestrian alleys. We continue to build and upgrade tramlines, which improve transport connectivity. The provided funds will enable us for a short period to build infrastructure with great environmental impact, improving the quality of life of more than a million citizens in Sofia.”
Source: eib.org, Photo: Kalin Dimchev/Unsplash