Extended under the EBRD’s Regional EU Cohesion Fund Co-financing Framework (R2CF), the loan will be used to co-finance the company’s EUR118.9 million EU Cohesion Fund regional investment program for upgrading water and wastewater services, EBRD said in a statement.
The investment will improve the quality of water supply and wastewater services and will allow Aquatim S.A. to reduce water leakages and optimise operating costs.
“This is the EBRD’s third loan to Aquatim, which demonstrates our confidence in the company. Whereas our first loan was guaranteed by the government, the current loan is without any guarantee at all, relying entirely on Aquatim’s credit standing,” said Jean-Patrick Marquet, the Director for Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure at EBRD.
The EBRD loan is supported by over EUR768,700 in grant financing for technical assistance provided by the Spanish government and the EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund.
Previously the EBRD supported similar investments in Romania, in Bistrita-Nasaud, Braila, Brasov, Buzau, Constanta, Dambovita, Iasi and Sibiu counties.
R2CF is a EUR200 million EBRD framework launched in 2010 to support investments in Romania’s water and wastewater infrastructure and help municipalities absorb the financing available from EU Cohesion Funds. To date the framework has mobilised investments of over EUR875 million in Romania’s water and wastewater infrastructure.