EU, Finland and Norway donate to new Northern Dimension transport fund

The European Commission, Finland and Norway will donate a total of EUR 2.95 million to the Support Fund of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport and Logistics. The Fund will co-finance the development of projects to qualify them for financing from international financial institutions and banks.

The Constituting Assembly of Donors of the NDPTL Support Fund took place at the premises of the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) on 11 December 2012. NIB acts as host for the NDPTL Secretariat at the Bank’s premises in Helsinki, Finland.

The NDPTL is one of four partnerships of the Northern Dimension and a common co-operation policy of the transport and foreign affairs ministries of 11 countries, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the European Commission.

“We hope this regional fund will help create dynamic infrastructure projects that can come to fruition,” says Head of Unit Philip Mikos of the European Commission’s Regional Programmes Neighbourhood East.

The European Commission will donate EUR 1.4 million, of which half is to be paid out this year and the remaining in 2013. Finland has donated EUR 1 million, and Norway will donate EUR 545,000, of which EUR 136,000 in 2013. Other NDPTL partners have indicated an interest in participating as contributors in the future. The membership of the NDPTL Support Fund is voluntary with the non-contributing partners acting as observers.

The NDPTL’s main objective is to improve transport connections and logistics of the Northern Dimension region to stimulate sustainable economic growth. The Fund was established at a NDPTL high level meeting held in Moscow in 2011.

The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) is the common international financial institution of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries. NIB provides long-term financing for projects that strengthen competitiveness and enhance the environment. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Mr Oddgeir Danielsen, Director, NDPTL, at +358 10 618 0425, oddgeir.danielsen(at)ndptl.org
Mr Harro Pitkänen, Deputy Head of Lending, NIB, at +358 10 618 0246, harro.pitkanen(at)nib.int

Published on NIB website