A year after the devastating DANA floods that hit the Costa Blanca and particularly the Vega Baja region, the European Bank has finally granted a loan of up to 100 million euros for repairs and infrastructure improvements.
The news was announced by Valencian President Ximo Puig at a meeting of the regional parliament Les Cortes, last week.
This is the second line of credit opened by the European Bank on behalf of the Valencian government, which was granted up to 270 million euros in November. The new loan will release a further 50 million euros and should be available from next month.
The funds will we specifically allocated to the Vega Baja area of the Costa Blanca, as well as the Vall d’Albaida region in the province of Valencia, both of which suffered severely at the hands of last September’s record-breaking storm and floods.
The projects ear-marked for funding include repairs to the Vega Baja Hospital and to all health centres in the area that were damaged by the storm. Roads, schools, farm irrigation and tourist infrastructures hit by the floods will also have essential work carried out thanks to the loan.
In June, the European Parliament approved a grant of 56.7 million euros to the four areas of Spain that were most affected by the DANA. However, it is not currently clear what share of the pot will go the Valencian Community and to neighbouring Murcia, which also suffered due to the floods, especially around the Mar Menor.