Latvia’s state-owned development finance institution Altum signed an agreement allowing it to raise up to €70 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for apartment upgrades expected to reduce household energy use and costs.
Altum’s disclosure places the signing on Thursday, Nov. 12. The EIB announced the agreement Friday, Nov. 13, and says its financing accounts for half of a €140 million project. Under the plan, renovations would reach about 3,900 apartments in roughly 125 buildings; together, the properties cover 234,000 square meters.
Renovations are projected to save about 23,500 megawatt-hours of energy each year and lower household energy consumption and costs by an average 40%, according to the EIB. The figures are forecasts for the completed work.
The EIB project record describes the facility as framework financing for Altum to make loans to homeowners’ associations. Altum said the funding will cover projects already under contract and strengthen its capacity for later energy-efficiency programs. Renovations may include insulation, facade and roof work, window and door replacement, and heating and ventilation upgrades.
The EIB points to the age of Latvia’s apartment stock and heat loss from buildings as reasons for the upgrades, and says homeowners’ associations can face difficulty financing renovations. It expects the program to improve energy affordability, including for low- and moderate-income families, and help reduce energy poverty.
The European Union is also among the project’s financial backers, the EIB says, and completion is scheduled by 2029. EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris said, “Renovating residences is essential for reducing household bills, strengthening energy security and advancing climate action.”
The EIB calls the agreement its third operation with Altum and says it supports a broader effort to bring 1 million affordable, sustainable homes to Europe by 2030. Separately, Latvia’s Ministry of Economics says a different apartment-renovation support instrument, combining public support with commercial-bank financing, is due to become available Jan. 4, 2027.
