EIB to finance reconstruction of earthquake and landslide-hit Ischia with 1 billion euros

Brussels – The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it would provide one billion euros to finance the reconstruction of public and private buildings in Ischia, severely damaged by the 2017 earthquake and 2022 landslide. The first 150 million tranche was signed today at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

In detail, the EIB loan will go to the MEF and help fund the operations of the Commissioner’s Office in the worst affected areas of the island. Specifically, the municipalities of Casamicciola Terme, Forio, and Lacco Ameno. Following in the footsteps of what already took place for the post-earthquake reconstruction of the areas of central Italy affected by the 2016 and 2017 quakes, for which the EIB had made €4.75 billion available to Rome.

The funds will help finance operations to renovate private residential and non-residential buildings, schools and public buildings, water infrastructure, and roads. According to the plan inked at the Mef, all buildings rehabilitated with EIB resources will adhere to the highest energy efficiency standards. In addition, to foster climate change adaptation and combat hydrogeological instability, financing will go to operations to shore up slopes, restore the hydraulic conductivity of riverbeds, and build new structures to mitigate remaining risks.

Thanks to the better borrowing conditions on international markets in terms of interest rates to which the EIB has access, the Italian state expects to achieve significant savings over the 25-year financing term. “This agreement confirms the EIB role as a major financial and technical partner of Italy in addressing the challenges posed by climate change and natural disasters,” said Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President. “The EIB loan was made possible by the free technical assistance offered to the Commissioner’s Office, which identified main areas of intervention to strengthen Ischia’s resilience to future extreme climate events, ensuring a safer future and a more sustainable island for its residents,” Vigliotti added.

Giovanni Legnini, extraordinary commissioner for reconstruction in Ischia appointed by the government in 2022, also expressed satisfaction with a contribution of “decisive importance, both from a financial point of view and for the advisory support provided so far.” The former vice president of the Superior Council of the Judiciary expressed hope that “the contract signed today will gradually be financed from the government budget.”