EIB and Municipality of Malaga join forces to build 476 new social housing units in the Andalusian city

• The EU bank will provide up to €70 million in financing to increase the Andalusian city’s social housing stock.
• Employment: over 600 jobs per year will be created during the construction phase.
• The project is supported by the Investment Plan for Europe.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will support the Malaga Municipal Housing Company (SMVM), under the Municipality of Malaga, to improve the availability of social rental housing in the city. To this end, the EIB has approved up to €70 million of financing for the construction of 1 001 affordable social rental homes. A first tranche of up to €37 million has been signed last week and will go towards the construction of the first 476 homes. The project will be implemented until 2023, helping to create more than 600 jobs per year during the implementation phase. The EU bank is providing this financing under the Investment Plan for Europe.

The EIB support will help SMVM increase the city of Malaga’s social housing stock, which currently consists of around 4 000 units. The new housing units will be located in the west of the city, an area that is home to technology and industrial parks and that has good public transport links to the city centre. These homes will be targeted at low-income groups and particularly vulnerable groups, such as victims of gender-based violence, single-parent households, young people, older people and people at risk of social exclusion. At least half of the new housing units will be allocated to households in the lowest income brackets.

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy, said: “This is an excellent piece of news for Malaga at the end of an incredibly difficult year. With the support of the Investment Plan for Europe, this project will provide new homes for families that need them – and at the same time create 600 jobs in the hard-hit construction sector.”

EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix, responsible for the Bank’s operations in Spain, said: “Promoting social cohesion is among the EU bank’s priority objectives. We are therefore pleased to be joining forces with the Municipality of Malaga to help many Andalusians who do not have sufficient resources or who are in a vulnerable situation to access affordable housing at a particularly difficult time. This agreement reflects the EIB’s commitment to supporting investments that improve people’s quality of life, while creating high-quality jobs and contributing to a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery.”

The mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, added that “the EIB loan to the Municipality of Malaga is great news for the city, as this financing further increases the rental housing stock that the City Council has promoted over the last 20 years. It is yet another example of the Municipality’s support for social housing.” The mayor also highlighted that “the city of Malaga is the leading city in Spain in terms of investment in public housing per capita, and is the largest promoter of public housing in Andalusia and the fourth-largest at a national level.”

Background information

European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy objectives.

European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI)

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. It provides first loss guarantees enabling the EIB to invest in riskier projects. The projects and agreements approved for financing under EFSI have so far mobilised €535.4 billion in investment.