mei projects

Project Summary Documents

Project Summary Documents (PSDs) are disclosed for each project prior to Board consideration. They contain project descriptions, financial details, client information, environmental issues, tender guidelines, and contact details. PSDs for private sector projects are disclosed at least 30 days prior to Board consideration and for state sector projects, at least 60 days.

Project Summary Documents

Signed projects

Board approval is the final stage in the project approval process. After Board approval, the EBRD and the client sign the deal and it becomes legally binding. Signed project lists reflect year-end data.

Signed projects  (0.1Mb)

Case studies

Breaking the ice in Russia’s Far East

In the remote Arctic region of Sakha (Yakutia), where most of Russia’s fabulous diamond wealth lies buried under permafrost, getting expensive heat to the far-flung homes of the region’s 1 million residents has always been a problem.

The costs for municipal services in Sakha are the highest in Russia. Fuel and transportation account for about 75 per cent of municipalities’ operational costs. Equipment is often inefficient and in poor repair, especially in the heating sector. The potential for cost savings is enormous.

A long-term loan of 1 billion roubles (€29 million) from the EBRD could be about to change all that. The financing will help local authorities in Russia’s largest region cut costs by using coal – locally available and cheap – instead of expensive oil imports to fuel district heating, particularly in remote northern settlements, where the heating season averages 10 months of the year. Winter temperatures in Sakha routinely fall below --50˚C for extended periods of time. They have even been known to dip below -- 60˚C.

The 14-year loan is to Sakha’s housing entity, GUP ZhKH, which provides most municipal water and heating services. It will finance modernisation of the systems providing heat and hot water to settlements that have no year-round road links. At present, these only survive thanks to fuel deliveries during the brief summer’s ice-free weeks (known as the Northern Delivery System).

The first long-term municipal infrastructure loan to be implemented in the Russian Far East will make a number of improvements, including replacing old boilers with more energy-efficient modern ones, installing heating substations in municipal housing blocks and public buildings, and modernising distribution networks.

The loan highlights the EBRD’s commitment to helping Russia modernise its infrastructure and opens the possibility of repeating this kind of deal in other parts of the country. Financial support from Japan will also be used to reorganise GUP ZhKH into a modern, market-oriented utility company, providing efficient municipal services to local people and businesses.

“This programme of investments will allow us to improve our system of heating and electricity, making it operate more efficiently in a new and market-friendly way,” said Vassily Grabtsevich, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Sakha.

The loan to GUP ZhKH, prepared with funds from the European Union and being implemented with the assistance of funding from Japan, is guaranteed by the Republic of Sakha. At present, the entity provides about 95 per cent of the heating, water and waste-water services in the region.

Improving water services in central Europe

Improving the quality of drinking water, modernising sewage treatment and reducing leaks are just some of the benefits that will result from private sector involvement in three municipal water companies – Tallinna Vesi (ASTV) in Estonia, Aqua Bielsko-Biala in Poland and Sofijska Voda (SV) in Bulgaria.

The three companies have been part of a successful joint venture between United Utilities, a UK multi-utility, and International Water, owned by American firms Bechtel and Edison.  Following the withdrawal of International Water from this arrangement, United Utilities approached the EBRD to take the place of its former partner. The Bank’s involvement will help to ensure that there are no interruptions to the improvement programmes under way.

The EBRD has acquired 50 per cent of International Water’s interest in the three companies, with United Utilities acquiring the balance. “Our commitment is to deliver high-quality services to our customers in central Europe. In the EBRD, we feel we have a partner who shares our long-term commitment to the region,” said Les Bell, Managing Director of United Utilities International.

Protecting St Petersburg’s drinking water

By cleaning up its waste water, St Petersburg is in danger of contaminating the city’s water supply. This paradox exists because huge quantities of dried sludge are being deposited in a landfill site near the city where toxic substances can seep into the local water table.

With the landfill close to capacity, the city’s water company, Vodokanal, is now constructing a large incinerator to burn the sludge following an EBRD loan of €24 million. This is the most efficient and environmentally friendly form of disposal, cutting solid waste volumes by 95 per cent and safeguarding the city’s underground water reservoirs. Under the terms of the financing, Vodokanal will also secure the existing landfill site to reduce the risk of pollution.

Once the incinerator is up and running, the plant will be able to treat greater volumes of waste water, which will further cut the amount of effluent contamination in the Baltic Sea. The project would be the first in Russia to call upon the private sector to run the plant following completion.

The Bank has a strong relationship with Vodokanal following three previous successful financings. “The EBRD has helped us to change our approach to business. The positive impact of this change is even greater than the benefits of the investments alone,” said Felix Karmazinov, General Director of Vodokanal.

This transaction is the third project to be financed under the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP - see page X). Besides the EBRD’s loan, the Nordic Investment Bank is lending €9 million while the NDEP is providing a €6 million grant. A €10 million grant has been contributed by Sweden, which has also provided €2.5 million to Vodokanal in institutional support. The United Kingdom has provided grants to finance the project’s environmental analysis.