- €5 million EBRD loan for construction of new landfill and recycling yard
- EU to support project implementation through WBIF
- Project to reduce environmental risks in Tuzla Canton
Up to 180,000 citizens of Zivinice, Kladanj, Banovici and surrounding areas in the canton of Tuzla will benefit from a regional sanitary landfill financed by the EBRD and the Western Balkans Investment Framework.
The EBRD is providing a €5 million loan to Bosnia and Herzegovina which is on-lent to Eko-Sep, a regional waste management company established by the three municipalities, for the construction of a new sanitary landfill and a recycling yard which will serve the biggest of ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The European Union, bilateral donors and beneficiary countries cooperating under the Western Balkans Investment Framework support the project with a €374,400 grant for the supervision of project implementation while Sweden has expressed strong interest to co-finance the project with a € 2.5 million grant.
The loan and grant will finance the construction of the landfill body, supporting facilities and recycling yard.
The new landfill will reduce environmental risks in the Tuzla Canton stemming from groundwater and soil contamination by developing a system which will provide for the collection and treatment of leachate, the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions and the prevention of fires. It is also a first step in introducing the so-called circular economy in solid waste management in the municipalities.
The project will help to bring the current state of waste management closer to targets set by the National Solid Waste Management Strategy, which identifies the construction of regional sanitary landfills as a prerequisite for a systematic solution to waste management. Currently, only six landfills in Bosnia and Herzegovina meet EU standards, while 16 are needed.
Manuela Naessl, EBRD Head of Office for Bosnia and Herzegovina, said: “We are pleased to support Tuzla Canton to upgrade the quality of services it provides to 180,000 of its citizens. Improved waste management and recycling not only promote the green economy in the country but also reduce environmental risks such as groundwater contamination. The EBRD is the leading investor in infrastructure, municipal services, renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Western Balkans and we look forward to continuing our work with the government to improve services for citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to date has invested more than €2.5 billion to the country’s private sector, infrastructure, municipalities and many other sectors through 166 projects.