Albania gets 80 mln euro World Bank loan to combat water pollution

The initiatives will be implemented by Albania’s tourism ministry under the World Bank’s Clean and Resilient Environment for Blue Sea Project, the lender said in a project details update last week.

The project envisages promotion of integrated and circular approaches to solid waste management, reduction of water pollution in the Vjosa River, which flows from north-western Greece towards southwestern Albania, and promotion of circularity for pollution reduction, the World Bank has said in project documents published earlier.

Initiatives on water pollution in Albania are necessary as environmental degradation from ineffective waste management systems and water treatment can directly affect the health of Albanian people and their livelihoods, besides the coast being a key area to economic sectors such as tourism, the World Bank has noted.

Disbursement is set to begin in 2024, while the project’s end-date is yet unknown.

($=0.928 euro)