November 27 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Wednesday it is providing a Romanian lei equivalent of 25 million euro ($27.5 million) loan to Compania de Apa Oltenia, a regional water operator in the counties of Dolj and Gorj.
Compania de Apa Oltenia will use the proceeds of the loan to co-finance, alongside EU Cohesion Funds, the water operator’s 374.62 million euro regional investment programme in wastewater infrastructure and services, the EBRD said in a press release.
Over 400,000 Romanian citizens living in Dolj and Gorj counties will benefit from the investment in water and wastewater services upgrades, which will reduce water losses by more than 3.2 million cu m per year, the bank said.
In addition to financing from its cohesion funds, the EU is providing technical assistance worth 50,000 euro to help the water operator ensure continued efficiency, sustainability and good management of assets.
The financing for Compania de Apa Oltenia is part of the EBRD Sustainable Water Infrastructure Facility (SWIFT) framework.
To date, the EBRD has financed 24 water operators in Romania, providing a total of 330 million euro in loans and mobilizing over 2 billion euro of EU funding for the country’s water and wastewater facilities.
($= 0.9077 euro)