A sum of €5.4 million within the €12.5 million project to electrify the airfield at the Malta International Airport is being financed through a loan that was secured by the Malta Development Bank (MDB), through EU funds.
On Monday, this newsroom reported that the Malta International Airport (MIA) is implementing an airfield electrification programme worth €12.5 million. This project is set to eliminate an average of 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
This project will enable the transition from diesel-powered ground power units to electric alternatives, including new electrical infrastructure, charging facilities, aircraft stand plug-ins and supporting equipment.
These changes should also reduce noise exposure and improve local air quality, the MDB stated.
The Malta Development Bank has announced that is participating in the partial funding of this project. As Malta's sole implementing partner to the EU's Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF), the MDB used this EU grant funding stream to finance €5.4 million of the total costs - equivalent to 43% of the total sum.
The EU's AFIF stream supports cleaner transport infrastructure, including projects that reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday earlier this March, MDB CEO Alison Micallef said that when a local infrastructural project features alternative fuels and is applicable to the EU's AFIF funding stream, the MDB can help the entrepreneur/company in question to get this project going for cheaper. She had also said that many of these cases feature co-lending.
She had told this newsroom that the MDB lends under its sharing agreements, and then funding arrives from sustainable financing instruments, such as via the European Investment Bank.
For this MIA project, the MDB said that "as a national promotional bank, MDB is well placed to finance projects that complement private sector investment and support the sustainable development of critical national infrastructure."
It added that its participation to open access to funding for this airfield electrification programme "reflects its statutory mandate to support investment that generates long-term economic, environmental and social value for Malta."
On this, MDB CEO Micallef said that MIA is a strategic national asset and a "vital gateway" for the Maltese economy, and that "supporting cleaner and more sustainable airport operations is fully aligned with MDB's mandate."
"This project reflects our role in leveraging EU resources to support investment that delivers tangible long-term benefits," Micallef said.
The MDB's chairperson, Leo Brincat, stated that "this project is a concrete example of how strategic infrastructure investment can support Malta's transition towards a lower-carbon economy. The Malta Development Bank's role is to look beyond the immediate and help finance projects that strengthen national resilience, competitiveness and sustainability."
The MDB's support for the MIA's €12.5 million airfield electrification programme adds to its growing portfolio of investments in Malta's strategic infrastructure, it said, alongside its work to support SMEs, green transition financing, housing, and student finance.