NIB funds new Aalto University campus near Helsinki

New university campus in Otaniemi. Visaulisation: Aalto University Foundation

NIB and Finland’s Aalto University Foundation have signed a long-term loan agreement of EUR 60 million for the construction of two university buildings near Helsinki.

The 20-year loan will help fund two new buildings with a total floor area of 43,000 square metres for the university’s School of Art, Design and Architecture and School of Business. Construction started in 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2019.

The project is part of a larger investment programme to move parts of the university to an integrated campus in Otaniemi in Espoo near Helsinki.

The new premises will allow for higher energy efficiency and more flexible teaching space solutions as well as reduce the university’s operating costs.

“Investing in education is one of the best ways to boost human capital and labour productivity. An integrated campus will encourage knowledge sharing, which can improve learning and research. This makes it eligible for a loan from NIB”, says Henrik Normann, NIB President & CEO.

This is the second loan that NIB has provided to finance the university’s Otaniemi Campus investment programme (click here).

Aalto University Foundation seeks to promote free research along with scientific and artistic erudition as well as to provide research-based higher education. The university is an autonomous, multidisciplinary science and art community that operates in the fields of technology, economics, art and design.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Ms Tarja Kylänpää, Senior Director, Head of Infrastructure, Transportation & Telecom Group, at +358 10 618 0237, mixIt(‘tarj’,’a.kylanpaa’,’nib.in’,’t’,”,’1522310514353-1′);tarja.kylanpaa (at) nib.int

Mr Dimitrijs Alehins, Senior Communications Specialist, at +358 10 618 0296, mixIt(‘dimitrijs.aleh’,’ins’,’nib.in’,’t’,”,’1522310514353-2′);dimitrijs.alehins (at) nib.int