The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to invest in environmental projects in Serbia, the bank's director for the Western Balkans, Zsuzsanna Hargitai, said.
The environmental projects should be accompanied by a strengthening of the awareness of citizens in their benefits for the safety and health, Hargitai said, as quoted in a statement by the Serbian government on Thursday.
Serbia needs to start the preparation of project documentation for the installation of 350 wastewater treatment systems in the next ten years and to realise other projects of great importance for the life of citizens, environment minister Goran Trivan said at a meeting with Hargitai in Belgrade.
The EBRD will provide support to Serbia in the development of waste management and wastewater treatment projects, as well as the establishment of a "green" fund in the country, the government said.
Serbia is currently processing 8% of its wastewater and needs to build 320 treatment plants until 2041 to meet the requirements of the European Union.