Huge EU loan to repair flood damage
Money to mend infrastructure in Vega Baja and south Valencia province
THE EUROPEAN central bank (ECB) has approved a €100 million loan for the Valencia government to repair damage caused in last September’s devastating flooding, since Valencia has been lifted from the financial institution’s blacklist.
Regional president Ximo Puig noted that the cash will be used to mend infrastructure in the Vega Baja and Vall d’Albaida.
Projects that will be funded include repairs to Vega Baja hospital and a health centre in Orihuela, as well as work on schools, irrigation systems, water purification stations, roads and rural tracks.
Sr Puig stated that Valencia has ‘regained the trust of the ECB after many years in which they would not accept any projects from the region due to the irregularities committed in the period before 2015’.
He explained that the previous Partido Popular (PP) regional government had failed to use ECB money to build schools which had been allocated to them for that purpose.
In addition to the loan, a total of €18 million will come from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) to fund flood recovery projects.
Sr Puig noted that this is 32% of the €56.7 million total which the EUSF is transferring to Spain to help cover the cost of last September’s torrential storms around the country.
EU recovery fund
Sr Puig also underlined that the EU’s Covid-19 recovery fund presents a ‘big opportunity’ for Valencia to improve the economic bases of the region.
It will help them to move towards ‘a green, digital and inclusive’ economy, he noted.
Sr Puig noted that an alliance was signed on Monday, bringing together ‘all the institutions’ in the region, as well as a political pact in the regional parliament on Tuesday.
“We are the only region to have a consensus on this,” he said.
“It is a mandate to design the new Valencia region.”
A special office will be created to draw up the projects to bid for the EU cash, he added.