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€20m for Dnipropetrovsk is first non-sovereign city loan in Ukraine
A €20 million loan to the water and waste-water utility of the city of
Dnipropetrovsk marks the EBRD’s first municipal infrastructure project in
Ukraine that does not require a sovereign guarantee. The project will help
improve the quality of the city’s drinking water, make the utility more
efficient, and cut the flow of untreated effluent into the Dnieper River and
the Black Sea basin.
The project is in line with the EBRD’s broad efforts to find ways to finance
local infrastructure projects without further burdening central government
budgets, and more specifically to help clean up the environment of one of
Ukraine’s most industrialised regions. The project received crucial support
through technical cooperation funds worth €1.4 million provided by the
governments of France and Sweden, as well as the European Union.
Thomas Maier, Director of Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure at the
EBRD, said the project will demonstrate how the Bank can help municipalities
implement tariff reform, improve billing and apply better management
procedures.
The municipal and environmental infrastructure programme in Ukraine focuses on
local investments, working with local authorities and their utility companies
to enhance their creditworthiness by improving budgeting, debt management and
investment planning.
The Bank’s cumulative investments in Ukraine stand at €1.7 billion through 68
projects.
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