The Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) announced last week that it has amended the lending conditions under the Urban Development Fund program to further adapt to the needs of local, regional, and county self-governments. The amendments allow for financing the construction of residential infrastructure intended exclusively for rental apartments, and the repayment period has been extended from the previous 15 years to 25 years.
How do domestic construction companies comment on this? We asked several local builders, but we only received a response from Ing-Grad. They welcome the changes in HBOR’s lending conditions.
– We believe that enabling financing for rental apartments and extending the repayment period from 15 to 25 years will facilitate access to capital for local and regional self-governments and stimulate additional investments in the construction of residential infrastructure. This initiative can contribute in the long term to increasing the supply of rental apartments, which is important for alleviating the market of owner-occupied housing and for promoting more affordable housing, especially for younger and more mobile citizens. It will be particularly important to ensure transparent, efficient, and timely project implementation to maximize the potential of this measure – they told us from Ing-Grada.
Let us remind you that the Urban Development Fund program is implemented by HBOR in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development and European Union Funds, and is financed through a combination of resources from the European Regional Development Fund and HBOR’s own funds.
