July 25 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering a loan of up to 15 million euro ($16.7 million) to Serbia to finance priority irrigation infrastructure in the country, it said.
The proceeds of the loan will finance the construction and rehabilitation of primary irrigation infrastructure in the Negotin and Svilajnac regions of central Serbia and the rehabilitation of two accumulation lakes in Vojvodina, as well as support in project implementation and supervision of works, the EBRD said in a notice on Wednesday.
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The project is expected to increase Serbia's resilience to climate change risks, as the country's vulnerability to climate change is expected to increase. According to recent estimates, 30% of the total country area and 52% of agricultural land is vulnerable to rainwater related flooding or water logging, the EBRD said. Additionally, it is expected to contribute to water and energy savings.
Technical assistance of up to 1.2 million euro will be provided through the framework agreement of EBRD with FAO, the Austrian government, as well as a bilateral or multilateral donor, the lender added.
The project has passed concept review and has a target board date of November 27.
($ = 0.8985 euro)