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EBRD finances wastewater treatment in Armenia
First municipal and environmental infrastructure project in the country
Residents of five municipalities located near Lake Sevan in Central Armenia
will benefit from improved wastewater management services following a €7
million sovereign loan from EBRD to the Republic of Armenia.
The funds will be on-lent to the state-owned Armenian Water and Sewerage
Company to finance three wastewater treatment plants and network
rehabilitation in the municipalities Gavar, Vardenis, Martuni, Sevan and
Jermuk.
This will be EBRD’s first municipal and environmental infrastructure project
in Armenia. The loan provided by the Bank is complemented by a €5 million
grant from the European Commission and the Early Transition Countries
Initiative Fund will provide technical co-operation grants of €1.2 million for
implementation support and advisory services.
Lake Sevan covers fifteen per cent of Armenia and is a place of natural beauty
and historic significance. The project will support efforts to achieve
compliance with Armenian and EU environmental standards for wastewater
treatment.
Alexander Auboeck, EBRD Business Group Director for Infrastructure said by
combining a loan with a capital grant the project is a good example of how the
Bank can help make municipal investments affordable even when commercial long
term financing is not available.
Armenia is part of the EBRD’s Early Transition Countries Initiative, which was
launched in 2004 to stimulate market activity in the Bank’s lowest-income
countries of operation. To-date, the EBRD has invested almost €120 million in
more than 40 projects in Armenia.
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