- EBRD extends €20.1 loan to upgrade public buildings in Iasi, Romania, by a further €30 million
- Loan increase addresses rising cost of equipment supply and work and legislative changes
- Project marks Iasi’s joining flagship urban sustainability programme, EBRD Green Cities
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending a further €30 million to the Romanian city of Iasi to complete an ambitious project to green its public buildings and public transport, extending an initial loan of €20.1 million made in 2021 after the city joined the Bank’s flagship urban sustainability programme, EBRD Green Cities.
The extension addresses escalating prices for equipment supply and works across the region and legislative changes for construction works that require further investment in the project. The increased loan amount will enable the City to complete construction and achieve the goals of the trigger project it undertook when signing up to EBRD Green Cities.
In Iasi, one of Romania’s largest cities, the energy consumption of public and commercial buildings, and the emissions from buses, trucks and other vehicles together account for around 67 per cent of the city’s annual emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are responsible for air pollution. The project presents significant potential for energy savings.
The EBRD lending is to finance energy efficiency upgrades to 15 public buildings and the reconstruction of a bus and tram depot, designed and equipped for a new urban transport fleet that currently includes 32 trams and 44 electric buses.
The depot infrastructure will support low-carbon transport in the city and enable the operation and maintenance of the current and future urban transport fleets. The renovation of buildings and the integration of energy-efficiency and renewable-energy measures in the upgraded depot will lead to energy savings of approximately 34 per cent.
The project is part of Iasi’s commitment to improving the environment under EBRD Green Cities, which Iasi joined in 2020. The programme was created to offer cities tangible support to improve the quality of life of their residents.
A client of the Bank since 2005, Iasi is keen to promote green investments and to address both its climate change and environmental challenges through EBRD Green Cities.
The project serves as Iasi’s trigger project which formally marked the city’s participation in the EBRD Green Cities programme. In tandem with the project, Iasi is developing its Green City Action Plan (GCAP) that will prioritise local environmental challenges and identify further investment and policy actions to promote the city’s sustainable development. The GCAP for Iasi is funded by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.
Iasi is one of five Romanian cities that are part of EBRD Green Cities, alongside Bucharest, Timisoara, Craiova and Medias. The programme covers more than 50 cities across the EBRD’s three continents. To date, the EBRD has signed €10.2 billion in more than 500 projects in Romania.