July 29 (SeeNews) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is considering providing a loan to Bulgarian state-owned Stara Zagora Water Supply and Sanitation Company for financing part of a 50.5 million euro ($56.2 million) project for water infrastructure upgrades, the bank said on Monday.
The considered loan will amount to 7 million euro, of which 4.1 million euro will be funded by the EBRD, the international lending institution said in a statement.
The remaining 2.9 million euro will be provided by the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and Bulgaria's national budget. The ESIF financial resources are managed by the EBRD and the Fund Manager of Financial Instruments in Bulgaria under an agreement signed in October 2018.
The project aims to help the company achieve compliance with the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, improve the efficiency of water supply services, reduce the share of non-revenue water and fulfil the requirements of the EU Drinking Water Directive.
A final review of the project by the EBRD is still pending.
Stara Zagora Water Supply and Sanitation Company provides water and sanitation services to 12 municipalities in the region of Stara Zagora, in southern Bulgaria, with approximately 300,000 inhabitants.
($ = 0.8993 euro)