2012-03-19 14:11

Public funds for renovating residential buildings remain largely untouched in Luxembourg banks

Large-scale renovation of blocks of flats, which, according to politicians, was supposed to reduce household spending on energy and to revive the economy, has not begun. Hundreds of millions of litas earmarked for this purpose still remain unused in a bank in Luxembourg, the Verslo Žinios business daily reports on Monday.
Daugiabutis
Soviet-time blocks of flats are in desperate need of renovation / Eriko Ovčarenko / BNS nuotr.

According to the figures made available by the Housing and Urban Development Agency (BUPA) at the Environment Ministry, only 189 applications have been received for taking part in the project aimed at refurbishing multi-household buildings for energy efficiency, implemented under a new financial mechanism, which came into effect in June 2009.

Meager 98 investment plans have been agreed and meager 43 crediting contracts worth 15 million litas (EUR 4.35 m) have been signed. More than 34,000 multi-household buildings were built in Lithuania by 1993 and the majority of them need to be refurbished.

A total of 448 multi-household building renovation projects have been implemented in Lithuania since 2005, including 279 projects involving complex renovation measures. Further 10 projects were implemented under the previous funding mechanism, BUPA said.

Lithuania has transferred 516 million litas (including LTL 438 m in EU funds and LTL 78 m in Lithuania’s budget funds) to the holding fund, which was established in 2009 under the so-called JESSICA initiative and which should invest its resources in the renovation of blockks of flats. Of this amount, close to 114 million litas were transferred to the banks that have been chosen as the program’s intermediaries (Šiaulių Bankas, Swedbank and SEB Bankas).

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