“EBRD is providing a EUR8.8 million loan which, alongside EU Cohesion Funds of EUR74 million and funding from the local and state budgets, will finance the EUR95.7 million regional water investment program of the SC Compania de Utilitati Publice Dunarea SA Braila,” the bank said in a statement.
Dunarea Braila is the regionalized water and wastewater operator for the County of Braila and is responsible for management of water resources including the distribution and treatment of water and wastewater services.
The investment program aims to extend and rehabilitate the water and wastewater infrastructure in 45 administrative territorial units representing nearly two thirds of the population in Braila County. As a result of the project, more than 300,000 inhabitants in the project area will gain access to a safe water supply and to sanitation services, EBRD said.
“We are pleased to be able to facilitate the absorption of EU funds in Romania and so far, the EBRD’s investments enabled utility companies in Romania to attract EUR724 million in EU Cohesion Funds with the counties of Brasov, Buzau, Constanta, Dambovita, Iasi, Sibiu and now Braila benefiting”said Claudia Pendred, EBRD Director for Romania.
The EBRD’s EUR8.8 million loan is a sub-project of the EUR200 million Regional EU Cohesion Fund Cofinancing Framework (R2CF) which was launched in 2010 to support investments in Romania’s water and wastewater infrastructure and to help municipalities absorb the financing available from EU Cohesion Funds.
It is estimated that the framework will mobilize additional investments of approximately EUR1.5 billion in Romania’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
Since the beginning of its operations in Romania, the EBRD has committed over EUR5.4 billion to various sectors of the country’s economy.