{"id":2246,"date":"2026-07-01T11:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/?p=2246"},"modified":"2026-07-01T11:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T08:46:22","slug":"our-regions-eu-projects-in-the-spotlight-significant-loan-financing-from-the-european-investment-bank-for-the-construction-of-the-tampere-tramway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/our-regions-eu-projects-in-the-spotlight-significant-loan-financing-from-the-european-investment-bank-for-the-construction-of-the-tampere-tramway\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Region\u2019s EU Projects in the Spotlight: Significant Loan Financing from the European Investment Bank for the Construction of the Tampere Tramway!\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>In a new article series by the Tampere Region\u00a0EU Office, we present projects from Tampere and the\u00a0Pirkanmaa\u00a0region for which local actors have successfully secured funding from various European Union financing instruments.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first part of the series introduces\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tampereenratikka.fi\/en\/tram-routes\/\">the\u00a0Pirkkala\u2013Linnainmaa\u00a0project entity of\u00a0Tampere Tramway Ltd (TRO)<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0for which TRO has received a \u20ac75 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The project includes new lines from Sorin\u00a0aukio\u00a0to\u00a0Pirkkala, from Kauppi campus to\u00a0Linnainmaa, as well as the development of existing tram infrastructure to accommodate increased traffic resulting from the new lines. The project will be implemented in two phases, with the first phase of operations scheduled to begin in August 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image2246_988358-09 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image2246_988358-09 size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"973\" height=\"533\" data-src=\"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png\" alt=\"(C) Tampere Tramway Ltd\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-2102 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image.png 973w, https:\/\/tampere.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-300x164.png 300w, https:\/\/tampere.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-768x421.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 973px) 100vw, 973px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 973px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 973\/533;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(C) Tampere Tramway Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Project financing<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cooperation between the City of Tampere, Tampere Tramway Ltd, and the European Investment Bank dates back several years. In fact, the EIB supported the first phase of the Tampere tramway between 2019 and 2021 with loans totaling \u20ac150 million. The results of this cooperation are now visible in the daily lives of residents as a highly functional mode of public transport. Connections with the bank were therefore already in place, and the bank was familiar with the work carried out by TRO in Tampere. As an interesting detail of this cooperation, one of the signatories of the financing agreement\u00a0in 2017 was then Vice-President of the EIB, current President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The financing application process for the&nbsp;Pirkkala\u2013Linnainmaa&nbsp;project began&nbsp;immediately&nbsp;after the Tampere City&nbsp;Council&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Pirkkala&nbsp;Municipal Council made the decision to construct the tramway in October 2024.&nbsp;<strong>Antti Ainola, CFO of TRO<\/strong>, who coordinated the financing application, described the cooperation and process as follows:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe entire process from signing the construction decision took about a year and a half, as the EIB conducts a very thorough assessment to ensure that the project meets its criteria and supports EU policy\u00a0objectives. In this project, the process was particularly\u00a0facilitated\u00a0by the EIB\u2019s existing understanding of the Tampere tramway.\u00a0Nevertheless, thorough preparation on our side and clear strategic direction communicated effectively to the Investment Bank are essential. It is advisable to prepare\u00a0in advance for additional questions and requests for clarification.\u00a0For\u00a0example,\u00a0it is also beneficial to be in contact with EIB officials in Helsinki already during the preparation of the investment decision, so that the necessary information can be compiled simultaneously. Although the process is highly regulated, it\u00a0proceeded\u00a0smoothly. For example, travel between Luxembourg and Tampere was not\u00a0required, and communication took place\u00a0mainly electronically. Required documents can also be\u00a0submitted\u00a0to the EIB in Finnish, after which they are translated into English by the Bank.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>It\u2019s&nbsp;worth applying<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is in the interest of Tampere,&nbsp;Pirkanmaa, and Finland more broadly to act actively at the European level. For companies and businesses in&nbsp;Pirkanmaa&nbsp;in particular, it is highly important to be aware of the various funding opportunities available at the European level.&nbsp;<strong>Pekka Sirvi\u00f6, CEO of TRO<\/strong>, commented on EIB financing as follows:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA clear strategic vision and solid groundwork,&nbsp;meaning a strong project,&nbsp;are key when applying for financing. EIB loans can cover up to 50% of a project\u2019s value, and based on our experience, the cost of financing is&nbsp;very competitive. As the process is time-consuming and regulated, the EIB expects projects of a certain scale, although there is no formal upper limit for financing.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the EIB, there are several other funding opportunities available to Finnish actors. Product development, innovation, and development activities rank&nbsp;very high&nbsp;in the European Commission\u2019s strategy, which is excellent news for&nbsp;Pirkanmaa. The region has significant&nbsp;expertise&nbsp;in areas such as security, advanced technologies, urban planning, and public transport. This is precisely the type of development the Commission aims to support, and Finnish actors have performed very well in the&nbsp;<strong>Horizon Europe funding&nbsp;programme<\/strong>, which focuses on these areas. Smaller actors can also access funding through instruments such as the&nbsp;<strong>European Innovation Council calls<\/strong>, which are open year-round. For questions related to these and other EU funding&nbsp;programmes, the Tampere and&nbsp;Pirkanmaa&nbsp;EU Office and Business Tampere provide support to local stakeholders and encourage them to explore and apply for funding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a new article series by the Tampere Region\u00a0EU Office, we present projects from Tampere&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[213,206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city","category-transport"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":213,"label":"City"},{"value":206,"label":"transport"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/tampere.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Tampereen-Ratikka-Hameensillalla-talvella-Tampere-Taivaalta-1024x768.jpg",1024,768,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Georgios Kareklas","author_link":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/author\/georgios\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":213,"name":"City","slug":"city","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":213,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":213,"category_count":5,"category_description":"","cat_name":"City","category_nicename":"city","category_parent":0},{"term_id":206,"name":"transport","slug":"transport","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":206,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":206,"category_count":3,"category_description":"","cat_name":"transport","category_nicename":"transport","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2247,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246\/revisions\/2247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tampere.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}