May 21 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Thursday that it is providing a loan of up to 5.8 million euro ($6.4 million) to the water utility company servicing the Bulgarian municipality of Smolyan, which will complement 34.8 million euro in grant funding from the EU.
The financing comprises 3.1 million euro from the EBRD and 2.7 million euro from the EU’s European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), the EBRD said in a statement.
The funds will improve the quality of water and wastewater services to some 100,000 people in the Smolyan region, the EBRD said.
The project, which is in line with the EBRD's coronavirus-response strategy, will help to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic in Bulgaria, where vital infrastructure providers are under enormous pressure to deliver services while facing financial constraints.
The EBRD was previously selected by Bulgaria's Fund of Funds to manage up to 115 million euro from ESIF and the national budget to develop the water sector. In addition, the EBRD will contribute up to another 80 million euro of its own finance.
To date, the EBRD has invested nearly 4 billion euro in the Bulgarian economy.
($ = 0.9101 euro)