EUR 815 million support for transport and energy in Greece

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing up to EUR 815 million for motorways, the Thessaloniki metro and an improved electricity transmission network in Greece.

In the presence of EIB President Werner Hoyer, five finance agreements were signed today in Athens in a public ceremony by the EIB Vice-President responsible for Greece, Mihai Tanasescu, the Minister of Finance Gikas Hardouvelis, the Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks, Michalis Chrysohoidis, the Chairman and Managing Director of Attiko Metro Christos Tsitouras, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Greek Public Power Corporation S.A. Arthouros Zervos, and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) Yiannis Yiarentis. The ceremony was attended also by Minister of Environment, Energy & Climate Change Yannis Maniatis.


On this occasion, EIB President Werner Hoyer stated: “With this strong shot we continue our support for growth and jobs in Greece. We concentrate on key sectors and help the Greek State to proceed with the construction of the country’s major motorways and the Thessaloniki metro to improve the citizens’ living and economic conditions. We also contribute to realise the electricity interconnection of the Cyclades islands, a long awaited project in Greece. This investment boosts tourism, by putting an end to the blackout risks of the past. All five projects will create jobs during construction and after, through commissioning, and will have further positive spillover effects in the regional and national environment, economy and living conditions”.

EUR 300 million to the Hellenic Republic for the Greek motorway programme
The EIB loan will be supporting the State’s financial commitments to the country’s main transport corridor (Patras-Athens-Thessaloniki), which is also a trans-European priority transport investment. The loan will finance the construction of 239 km of new motorways and smaller upgrades on 434 km of existing motorways located along this main axis. This is the second and last tranche of the EIB facility of a total of EUR 650 million for the resumption of construction works on Greek motorways which, considering their strong impact on employment and GDP growth, play a special role in revitalising the Greek economy.

EUR 200 million in further support of the Thessaloniki metro
The Thessaloniki Metro project has been the focus of the Greek State’s strategy for providing an efficient and effective public transport system in metropolitan Thessaloniki, in parallel with the ongoing extensions of the Athens metro network. As such, it has been supported by the Greek State, the European Union through EU grants and the EIB. This essential public service project represents one of the most important areas of EIB value-added activity, as the EU Bank’s ability to provide long-term financing perfectly matches the long-term nature and requirements of the infrastructure provided. The EIB is already partially financing the Thessaloniki metro baseline, with previous loans totaling EUR 650 million, and the finance agreement signed today provides additional support for the network’s extension to the area of Kalamaria.

EUR 180 million for improved electricity network

The signature of EUR 180 million loan is the second and final tranche of a EUR 415 million facility to the Greek Public Power Corporation S.A. (PPC), for renovating and reinforcing the electricity distribution network, as well as extending it to enable some 186 000 new connections throughout peninsular and insular Greece.

The investment programme will benefit consumers and suppliers by improving the electricity distribution infrastructure and increasing the effectiveness of electricity supply in meeting demand.

The promoter of the project is the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A. (HEDNO), a 100% subsidiary of PPC created in 2012.  

EUR 135 million for improved electricity transmission and interconnection of Cyclades
The funding to the Greek Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO or ADMIE) consists of two loans aiming at improved electricity transmission and the interconnection of the Cyclades islands to the mainland network.
The signature of EUR 70 million is the first tranche of a EUR 140 million facility to support the company’s current on-going power transmission investment programme. This includes the construction of the Megalopoli Extra High Voltage Station, the interconnection of Nea Makri (Attica mainland) to Polypotamos (island of Evia), and a cluster of smaller transmission schemes.  The loan is expected to support the integration of new generation resources into the grid, including renewable energy, to extend transmission capacity and contribute to improving the reliability of supply.
The signature of EUR 65 million is the first tranche of a EUR 130 million facility to support the connection of the main Cycladic islands Syros, Tinos, Mykonos and Paros with the mainland interconnected system of Greece. The interconnection will be effected through a subsea cable grid operated at 150 kV. The project will substitute the local generation run on fuel oil with energy produced by far cheaper and less polluting stations operated in the mainland system. It will also support the development of additional wind and solar generation capacity that on the islands, which in the currently isolated configuration is restricted for technical reasons.
http://www.eib.org/infocentre/press/releases/all/2014/2014-195-eur-815-million-support-for-transport-and-energy-in-greece.htm?media=rss&language=en
18/9/14

China, Greece ink $4.6 billion in deals. "Greece can become China's gateway in Europe and the start of a European trade corridor"

Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang visited  port of Piraeus in Greece on Friday, after a series of trade and investment deals worth $4.6 billion were signed between the two sides during Li 's three-day visit to Greece.

The deals included multi-billion-dollar Chinese bank loans to build at least 10 Greek-owned ships in Chinese shipyards. There were also agreements on the construction of solar energy parks in Greece, AFP reported.

"Cooperation between Greece and China is always mutually beneficial. China is fully confident about the prospect of Greece's development," Li said at a Thursday joint conference with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, adding that China would continue to be a "long-term and responsible" investor.

Li also called for more investment in the Piraeus Container Terminal project at Greece's largest port, which is jointly run by Chinese shipping giant COSCO and the Greek port authority.

Another $1.9 billion worth of deals are expected to be signed, mostly in infrastructure, transport and energy, according to local media.

• Greek is willing to deepen cooperation and cultural exchanges and will actively take part in the construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, according to Samaras. "Greece can become China's gateway in Europe and the start of a European trade corridor," he said.

• China provided timely support during the Greek debt crisis, which brought confidence and strength, Samaras said. Li also expressed appreciation for Greek assistance during the evacuation of Chinese nationals from Libya in 2011.

Li and Samaras also inaugurated a rail link that will transport goods from Piraeus to central Europe, Associated Press reported Friday.
Source:Agencies  - globaltimes.cn
21/6/14
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Bulgaria to Sign 6+4 Year Contract with Gazprom

Bulgaria will seek a gas supply contract with Russian Gazprom for a period of 6+4 years, according to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
Borisov declared Wednesday that the contract would be valid for an extra four years in case Bulgaria failed to produce sufficient gas on its own territory.
Borisov's statement came one day before Bulgaria's signing of the final investment decision on the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline.

Speaking after the government meeting on Wednesday in the presence of British Ambassador Jonathan Allen, Bulgaria's Prime Minister emphasized the active efforts towards local natural gas production.
"In six years' time, Bulgaria will extract large amounts of gas. We have already secured over 10% of our consumption from local production, it is produced by Melrose Resources. I hope that we shall have sufficient quantities of natural gas in six years' time, which is why we want a contract with Gazprom for 6+4 years, in case we fail to find gas," Borisov stated.
Reminding that the issue of gas supplies involved huge amounts of money, he asked Bulgarian media not to sabotage the talks, urging them to resist the tricks of Russian media.
"The matter involves a lot of money which the Bulgarian economy has been paying. We want to achieve a maximum discount and to use all the leverage available to us. So please, help us for one day – stay out of it," Borisov declared, specifying that he did not mean to offend Bulgarian journalists, whom he held in high esteem, "save for some exceptions."
Borisov pointed out that he would give a press conference on gas supply issues at 11 p.m. on Thursday.
Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, declared on Wednesday that Bulgaria and Russia had not yet reached agreement on the price of gas from 2013 on.
He assured that Bulgaria would get a discount of at least 11%, which entered into force on April 1 and will remain valid until December 31.
Meanwhile, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller came up with a statement insisting that the price of natural gas for Bulgaria and the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline were unrelated.
As regards the new prices of Russian gas for Bulgaria, he underscored that all necessary amendments to the contract had been made in 2012.
 .novinite.com
14/11/12
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Land sold off and used for biofuels could have fed 1 billion people – report

Indian labourers work in a field of Jatropha in the village of Hassan, some 250 kms from Bangalore. Jatropha, a wild shrub that grows abundantly across India, has been hailed as an eco-friendly solution to the energy needs. (AFP Photo / Mission Biofuels India)
2 million kilometers of foreign purchased land in developing countries is either idle or used for Western biofuel production, according to a British charity. Oxfam's report estimates an area the size of London is sold every six days.
The report states that between 2000 and 2010, 60% of investment in agricultural land by foreign traders occurred in developing countries with hunger problems.

Yet two thirds of those investors plan to export everything they produce. While 60% of deals are to produce crops that can be used for biofuels. Land can also be left idle, as speculators wait for its value to increase.  
Oxfam estimates that this land could have fed 1 billion people.
According to the International Land Coalition, an NGO based in Italy, 106 million hectares of land in developing countries has been acquired by foreign investors in a period between 2000-2010, with some disastrous results.
30% of all land in Liberia has been handed out in large scale concessions in the last 5 years, while up to 63% of all available land in Cambodia has been passed on to private companies.

Farmers forced out

Oxfam emphasizes that much of the land sold off was already being used for small scale and subsistence farming or other types of natural resource use.
The report dismissed claims by the World Bank that most of the sold land remains idle, waiting to be developed. In fact most agricultural land deals target quality farm land, particularly land that is irrigated and offers good access to markets.
A 2010 study by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) – the official monitoring and evaluation body of the World Bank – supported Oxfam’s findings.
It found that 30% of World Bank projects involved involuntary resettlement. The study estimated that 1 million people are involuntarily resettled in projects financed by the World Bank.
In some cases people were violently evicted from their land without consultation or compensation.
Barbara Stocking, Oxfam’s chief executive, told British newspaper the Guardian that, “The rush for land is out of control and some of the world’s poorest people are suffering hunger, violence and greater poverty as a result. The World Bank is in a unique position to help stop land grabs becoming one of the biggest scandals of the century.”

Internally displaced children line up to receive a food ration at a food distribution point at a voluntary centre in Mogadishu, Somalia. (AFP Photo / Mohamed Dahir)

Freeze investments

Oxfam has urged the World Bank to freeze its investments in large scale land acquisitions in poor nations.
In the last decade the World Bank has tripled its support for land projects to $6-$8 billion a year, but it does not provide data on how much of this goes to land acquisition or any connection between lending and conflict in a country.
Oxfam wants the World Bank to make sure that information about land deals is publicly accessible, that communities are informed in advance and have the right to agree to or refuse to participate in projects.
Stocking said that the UK, as one of the banks largest shareholders and next year’s president of the G8, should try and get these land deals frozen.
“The UK should also show leadership in reversing flawed biofuels targets, which are a main driver for land and are diverting food into fuel. It can also play a crucial role as president of the G8 next year by putting food and hunger at the heart of the agenda,” Stocking said.
But in a statement released to the Guardian, the international Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private lending arm, defended its past transactions.
“IFC does not finance land acquisitions for speculative purposes. We invest in productive agricultural and forestry enterprises that can be land intensive to help provide the food and fiber the world needs.”
http://rt.com/news/world-bank-developing-world-689/
5/10/12
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