News
CEB signs a €15 million loan agreement with Riga Technical University to finance infrastructure improvements and campus expansion
20 December 2018
PARIS - The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) signed a €15 million loan agreement with Riga Technical University (RTU) to finance the modernisation of its infrastructure and further development of its campus.
RTU dates back to 1862 and is the oldest university in Latvia. It is also one the largest, with nine faculties and approximately 15,000 students enrolled in a range of science and engineering academic programmes. The university has commenced upgrading its infrastructure in order to further improve the quality of their academic studies as well as achieve excellence in research and sustainable innovation, and commercialization activities.
The funds made available by the CEB will ensure the resources needed for the renovation and construction of several university premises. Specifically, the CEB loan will contribute to the completion of the rehabilitation works for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transport and Aeronautics (due in the spring 2019) and to initiating additional construction and rehabilitation works for the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Science and Innovation Centre, and the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology (due for commissioning in late 2020). It is expected that more than 7,000 students (almost half of the university’s population) will benefit from the new investments.
RTU Rector, Professor Leonīds Ribickis, emphasized the importance of CEB’s decision to support the development of Riga Technical University to achieve sustainability goals.
The CEB Governor, Rolf Wenzel, said: “We are pleased to be able to contribute to the development of state-of-the-art, smart and sustainable education and research infrastructure which will directly benefit RTU’s staff and students. The new facilities will undoubtedly strengthen the competitiveness of Latvia’s higher education as a whole.”
This project is co-financed by the EU, with investment grants allocated under the European Regional Development Fund.
Latvia became a CEB member in 1998. To date, CEB financing has helped leverage more than €500 million investments in education, affordable housing, various municipal infrastructure sectors (waste management, district heating, energy efficiency, and access roads), as well as provide credit facilities to women entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
CEB. Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AA+ with Standard & Poor's, outlook positive and AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.
RTU. Established in 1862 as a polytechnic higher education institution, RTU is Latvia’s oldest university and one of the two largest in the country, comprising nine faculties and some 15,000 students enrolled in a range of academic programmes. Its student population represents one-fifth of the total number of higher education students in Latvia.