EBRD lends RON 33.2 million for project co-financed by EU funds.

Author(s):Svitlana Pyrkalo
Date:03 August 2012

Satu Mare, a county in north-western Romania, is getting an upgrade of its water and wastewater services, financed by the EU Cohesion Fund and co-financed by the EBRD.

The EBRD is providing a RON 33.2 million (€7.8 million) loan with a 15-year maturity to the county’s water and wastewater utility, S.C. Apaserv Satu Mare S.A, to co-finance a regional investment programme of €126.4 million equivalent, approved by the European Union and which includes significant grant funding from the European Union.

The upgrade is expected to greatly reduce water losses, optimise costs and bring these services into line with EU environmental directives.

“The EBRD is committed to improving urban infrastructure, particularly water services, in Romania and helping the country to absorb EU cohesion funds. This loan will enable the company to modernise water and wastewater infrastructure in seven urban agglomerations of Satu Mare,” said Jean-Patrick Marquet, EBRD Director for Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure.

“This is a very important project for Satu Mare county. As many as 15,000 people will be newly connected to the centralised water system. As a result of this upgrade, half of the county’s 390,000 inhabitants will benefit from improved water and sewerage services,” said Ioan Leitner, Director of the utility company S.C. Apaserv.

The loan is part of the Bank’s Romania EU Cohesion Funds Water Co-Financing Framework. Satu Mare’s utility is the 13th company in Romania to benefit from a water/wastewater services upgrade under the Framework. To date the Bank has invested €200 million under the Framework and has mobilised more than €1 billion of EU funding in Romania’s water and wastewater facilities.

Since the beginning of its operations in Romania, the EBRD has invested close to €6 billion in over 315 projects in the country.

Source: www.ebrd.org