Moldova gets 5.6 mln euro waste management grant through EBRD

Approximately 185,000 people in the Calarasi, Nisporeni and Ungheni districts will benefit from the sustainable solid waste management system, the EBRD said in a press release.

“It will also support Moldova’s efforts as an EU candidate country to align with EU standards on preventing the negative impact of waste, strengthening resource efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, said.

The project involves the purchase of waste collection and transfer assets such as waste containers and collection vehicles, as well as the construction of solid waste disposal and treatment infrastructure, including landfills along with material sorting and treatment facilities.

This is the first step in a solid waste management project involving multiple regions in Moldova that will accelerate the country’s decarbonisation efforts in line with Paris Agreement provisions.

The financing complements a 25 million euro sovereign loan granted by the EBRD to Moldova to finance critical investments in solid waste management infrastructure and to address pressing environmental challenges, Moldova’s environment ministry said in a separate press release on Thursday.

The E5P is a 352 million euro multi-donor fund initiated by Sweden and operating in the whole Eastern Partnership region, while merging financial contributions from the EU and 24 countries. In Moldova, the fund totals over 50 million euro and includes a 1 million euro contribution from Moldova itself. The EU is the biggest contributor, with 28.95 million euro. The EBRD acts as the fund manager of E5P.

($=0.919 euro)