TfL secures 1bn loan from EIB to help fund Crossrail
TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has secured a £1bn loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance 40 per cent of its contribution to the Crossrail project, it will say today.
“For the EIB to agree to the loan facility provides international recognition of Crossrail’s importance and is a further milestone in the delivery of the project,” the transport group said.
TfL and the Greater London Authority (GLA) are responsible for £7.7bn of the £15.9bn funding for Crossrail, which will link Paddington and Liverpool Street stations. Out of the £7.7bn financing, TfL must raise £2.4bn.
“It is one of the largest loans ever secured for a transport project and I am especially pleased to have this backing for our drive to provide London with the facilities required to keep the capital one of the world’s leading cities,” Mayor Boris Johnson said in response to the loan.
The EIB’s vice-president Simon Brooks stressed the economic and ecological benefits of the controversial project, which critics say will not be built if there is a change of government at the next election.