EIB and Gewobag to Build Over 2,000 Affordable Flats in Berlin

(IN BRIEF) Gewobag, a state-owned housing company in Berlin, has secured a €300 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to build over 2,165 new flats by 2026. The funding will also help establish 350 positions at childcare centers and 210 at assisted living facilities, as well as 650 homes for refugees. Seven construction projects will be executed in different locations in Berlin, meeting the level 55 Efficiency House standard of KfW, the German promotional bank, and complying with the EU Buildings Directive. This marks the third financing project of Gewobag and EIB collaboration, generating additional affordable housing in Berlin.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 4-Apr-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, has granted a €300 million loan to Gewobag, a state-owned Berlin housing company, for the construction of over 2,165 new flats by 2026. The financing will also support the creation of around 350 positions at childcare centers and 210 at assisted living facilities, as well as 650 homes for refugees.

Seven construction projects will be implemented, including those on Allee der Kosmonauten in Berlin-Marzahn, Landsberger Allee in Berlin-Lichtenberg, Gartenfelder Strasse in Berlin-Spandau, and Wendenschlossstrasse in Berlin-Köpenick. These projects largely comply with the German promotional bank KfW’s level 55 Efficiency House standard and meet the requirements of the EU Buildings Directive.

This loan marks the third financing project on which Gewobag and the EIB have collaborated, resulting in the creation of additional affordable housing in Berlin.

EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who oversees financing in Germany, remarked, “Together with Gewobag, we are showing that new, energy-efficient housing need not be costly for tenants. The project helps alleviate the shortage of affordable housing in Berlin, in a climate-friendly manner. It also promotes solidarity and the cohabitation of different generations in new neighbourhoods, through the provision of housing for refugees, new kindergartens and assisted living facilities.”

Gewobag board member Markus Terboven explained, “The preferential interest rates offered by the EIB will permit us to further reduce our financing costs and keep them low in the long term. With this financing project, we are helping create much-needed housing that is also affordable, while keeping rent prices for our tenants as low as possible. In the EIB, we have a strong and reliable partner at our side.”

Background information

The EIB’s key priorities are climate and the environment, development, innovation and skills, small and medium-sized businesses, infrastructure and cohesion. It works closely with other EU institutions to foster European integration, promote the European Union’s development and support EU policies in more than 140 countries worldwide.

Gewobag is one of the largest real estate companies in Berlin and nationwide, with more than 74 000 residential units and 130 000 tenants. By 2030, the government-owned housing company intends to expand with a further 10 000 units.

Media contact:

Donata Riedel
d.riedel@eib.org
+352 4379 – 86192

press@eib.org
+352 4379 – 21000

SOURCE: European Investment Bank