EIB to extend EUR 50mn loan for schools

 
Belgrade, June 12, (Serbia Today) - Finance Minister Diana Dragutinovic and European Investment Bank (EIB) Adriatic regional executive Dominique Courbin signed an agreement worth EUR 50mn on Tuesday. The loan for education in Serbia is made for the period of 25 years, with a grace period of five years and free choice of interest rate modes, Dragutinovic announced after the signing of the contract at the Serbian Government. The loan is allocated for school modernization programs and represents a continuation of the project for improving the situation in schools signed in 2005. Dragutinovi stated that Serbia expects one billion euros from the EIB in 2010 . Funds from the loan will be earmarked for building new schools, eliminating the three-shift system of work which still exists in some schools in Serbia, and the reconstruction and upgrading of schools. Head of EIB Division for Slovenia, Croatia and Western Balkans Dominique Courbin highlighted the importance of the agreement for Serbia, since investing in primary and secondary schools will help the country's future economic development.