Lithuania and European Investment Bank (EIB) establish the €150m Jessica-2 fund that will support for energy efficiency investments in Lithuanian multi-apartment buildings. The EIB will become the Fund Manager of the Jessica-2 Fundwill be made available to the Lithuanian government's “Multi-apartment Building Modernisation Programme” over the 2014-2020 period. This is a follow-up fund of the JESSICA Holding Fund Lithuania (JESSICA-1), of which all funds have already been committed. Up to now, up to 250 buildings have finished the refurbishment and around 1,000 buildings are currently undergoing works.
In addition, the EIB has loaned Lithuania €300m to support investment in the areas of communications, energy, sustainable transport infrastructure and rural development. It is the first tranche of a larger facility, totalling up to €1.3bn. The EU Structural Funds will meet a fixed percentage of the costs of eligible projects. The loan will primarily support projects in the research, education and IT sectors, with financing also going to Lithuanian SMEs, climate change mitigation projects and employment programmes. More specifically, three larger projects have also been earmarked for funding: the construction of the Vilnius Western Bypass and the modernisation of the centralised heating sector in the cities of Vilnius and Kaunas.