The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis signed the announced financing contract of 250 million euros this Friday, November 21, in favor of the new tramway line project of the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis. The financing requirement of the project, amounting to a total of 500 million euros, will be funded equally by the EIB and the Caisse des Dรฉpรดts.
The signing ceremony took place at Nice City Hall in the presence of Christian Estrosi, Deputy Mayor of Nice, President of the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis, and Philippe de Fontaine Vive, Vice-President of the EIB.
In a context of tightened credit and strong budgetary constraints for municipalities, this is a key financing for the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis.
The East-West tramway line will thus increase the offer of public transport on this axis, going from 70,000 to 140,000 people transported daily soon after its commissioning and 200,000 people in the long term.
This funding will also contribute to the acquisition of 19 new generation trains, each with a capacity of 300 people and a length of 44 meters, as well as the construction of a new maintenance site. Five park-and-ride facilities with a total capacity of 1,550 spaces will also be built to facilitate the modal shift from private cars to the tramway.
The commissioning of this new line is planned for 2018.
At a time when the EIB is strengthening its action in favor of territorial economic development in France, this financing of 250 million euros, granted for a long duration and under attractive conditions thanks to the Bank’s triple-A rating, proves to be important for the Nice Cรดte d’Azur Metropolis.
