Investment in urban rehabilitation reaches €123 million

Twenty-three contracts for urban rehabilitation projects signed on the back of the Urban Revitalisation and Rehabilitation Finance Instrument  (IFRRU) 2020 totalled €123 million by 1 August.

The European Community funding covers 11 districts in Portugal, the majority for property rehabilitation for business (office, guest house or resale) and nine for housing.

The 26 contracts represent projects in 11 districts: Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Elvas, Faro, Lisbon, Funchal, Matosinhos, Odemira, Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.

The nine contracts signed for housing (i.e., non-commercial aims) are for properties for sale or rental.

All of the contracted projects are from private entities, companies or individuals.

Regarding projects in the pipeline under consideration, the Ministry of the Environment states that “investment intentions in the pipeline from this financial instrument number 682, with an investment sum of €1.9Bn.

“Almost all intentions to invest (95%) involve formal applications from private sources (companies or individuals) this category being for 100% of applications already accepted.

The IFRRU was created on the back of community funds earmarked for Portugal 2020 involving funds from the European Investment Bank and the European Council’s Development Bank.

The commercial banks in Portugal mandated to distribute the funds are – Santander Totta, Banco BPI and Millennium BCP and are responsible for €1.4Bn of the IFRRU 2020 funds.

The purpose of the instrument is to “revitalise cities, help regenerate spaces set aside for disadvantaged communities and foster energy efficiency measures in housing.