|
One loan, three sectors
EBRD finance to boost water, sewer and solid-waste services in Wroclaw
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €30 million loan to the Polish city of Wroc·aw to help finance investments in the water supply, sewerage and solid waste sectors. Funds from the 15-year loan will be provided in tranches to match the phasing of the investment programme, and may be drawn in either euros or Polish zloty. The European Union’s Instrument for Structural Policies for Pre-Accession Programme (ISPA) has approved Wroc·aw’s application for complementary grant financing of about €36.5 million for water-supply and waste-water improvements and €13.5 million for solid-waste treatment.
“This project will enable Wroclaw to comply with EU environmental standards in the three important areas of water supply, sewerage and solid waste,” said Thomas Maier, the EBRD’s Director for Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure. “The project marks the Bank’s second loan in Wroclaw, and we are delighted to extend our cooperation with this important city. It is the EBRD’s first multi-sector loan to a Polish city, and should provide the flexibility Wroclaw needs to implement its far-reaching environmental investment programme.”
To undertake improvements to Wroc·aw's water system, the city will onlend loan proceeds to its water company, MPWiK-Wroclaw. The financing will be used to upgrade the Na Grobli water treatment plant, extend the city’s sewer network to areas that currently rely on septic tanks, and link parts of the city to the new waste-water treatment plant. The project should bring a halt to direct discharges of sewage into the River Odra and result in improved services for MPWiK’s customers. The solid-waste component of the project involves upgrading the Maslice landfill, which poses serious environmental and health risks.
This is one of a number of projects in Poland and central Europe to be co-financed by the EBRD and ISPA. It is the result of close cooperation between EBRD staff, the city of Wroc·aw, ISPA, MPWiK, the Ministry of Environment and the National Fund for Environmental Protection. It also marks the second EBRD loan for Wroc·aw, the first having been signed in 1998 to improve parts of the urban transport system affected by the flood of summer 1997.
With a population of 640,000, Wroclaw is the fourth-largest city in Poland and a regional economic centre for the south west of the country. Major local industries include chemicals, electronics, machinery and food processing. The city is an important focus for foreign direct investment and has a BBB foreign-currency credit rating.
|
