SWIFT Buzau sub-project

Overview
Project Summary Document
Environmental and Social Documentation
Procurement
Complaints

Overview

Loan of up to EUR 20 million to Compania de Apa Buzau, the regional water operator in the County of Buzau.

The proceeds of the loan will be used to co-finance alongside EU Cohesion Funds an extension and modernisation of the company's water and wastewater infrastructure and services. The EU investment grants are being made available under the EU Large Infrastructure Operational Programme.

Project ID 50738

Status Repaying

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Municipal Infrastructure

Notice Type

State

Project timeline

Exploratory
Passed Concept Review
Passed Structure Review
Passed Final Review
Board Approved
Signed
Implementing
Completed

Company Contact Information

nulloffice@cabuzau.ro
+400238711157
www.cabuzau.ro

Project ID 50738

Status Repaying

Location

Romania

Business Sector

Municipal Infrastructure

Notice Type

State

Environmental Category

Approval Date

15 Oct 2019

Disclosure date

26 Feb 2020

As permitted by paragraph 2.6 of Section III of the Access to Information Policy, disclosure of this PSD was deferred in accordance with paragraph 1.4.4 of the Directive on Access to Information.

As per section 1.4.2 (iii) of the Directive on Access to Information: "For Projects approved by Bank management where the Board of Directors has delegated the approval authority, the PSD shall be disclosed at the start of the relevant no-objection notification period to a member country of the Bank in accordance with Article 13 (iii) of the Agreement Establishing the EBRD."

SWIFT Buzau sub-project (Romanian) (PDF, 0.68MB)

Project description

Loan of up to EUR 20 million to Compania de Apa Buzau, the regional water operator in the County of Buzau.

Project objectives

The project aims to enable Compania de Apa Buzau to bring their water and wastewater services in line with EU environmental standards by co-financing the extension and rehabilitation of the company's water and wastewater network alongside the EU.

Transition impact

ETI Score:60

The Project is proposed for financing under the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Facility Framework ("SWIFT"). In line with SWIFT, the transition impact of the project will be achieved through:

The development of a long term asset management approach.
The support of environmental improvements and continued regionalisation of water and wastewater services in the County of Buzau.

Client information

WATER COMPANY OF THE CITY OF BUZAU

SC Compania de Apa SA

www.cabuzau.ro

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 20,000,000.00

Total project cost

EUR 287,900,000.00

Additionality

Long term financing from commercial banks for this type of infrastructure projects is not widely available in Romania at present. In addition, the Bank's long standing experience in the Romanian water sector and unique ability to structure an AMP, define options for cost-efficiency improvements, and improve delegation contracts to ensure sustainability of the project make the Bank highly additional in this transaction and best placed to pursue the reform agenda.

Environmental & Social Summary

Categorised B (2014 ESP). The Environmental and Social Due Diligence (the "ESDD") for the Project has been carried out as part of the Project Feasibility Study by independent consultants and included a review of Environmental and Social (E&S) management capacity and performance of S.C. Compania de Apa Buzau S.A. (CA Buzau) and an assessment of the project's potential E&S impacts.

CA BUZAU operates an integrated management system and is certified to ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 22000. The company's Human Resources systems are in full compliance with the requirements of PR2.

The total population benefiting from improved water supply and wastewater services, enabled by the project, amounts to 210,827 and 175,397 inhabitants respectively. There will be increased connection rates to water supply networks from current level of 91 per cent to 96 per cent across the network or 93.3 per cent to 98.7 per cent in the project area. There will be increased connections to wastewater networks from current level of 65 per cent to 84 per cent across the network or 73.7 per cent to 96.7 per cent in the project area thereby greatly reducing the discharge of untreated sewage. The company has committed to provide additional funds to ensure 100 per cent connection rates. There will be a particular focus on improving connections to small localities (below 10,000 inhabitants). In addition, upgrades to infrastructure will reduce water losses from 31 per cent to 24 per cent of supply in the CA Buzau's service area. These measures will bring the company into compliance with the service provision obligations of the EU Directive no. 98/83/EC on the quality of drinking water and Directive no. 91/271/EEC on wastewater collection and treatment by 2024. The project will also enable compliance with EU Directive no. 86/278/EEC on sewage sludge. Due diligence has confirmed the sustainability of the water resources.

The environmental and social appraisal demonstrated that the environmental and social impacts of the proposed upgrading and expanding water supply and wastewater systems will be mainly of limited duration and extent and can be mitigated through standard methods and good construction practices. The project was subject to a single EIA Screening procedure. The competent authority issued the screening decision that neither a full EIA nor full-scale appropriate assessment is required due to the project being unlikely to have a significant impact. A limited part of the project will be conducted within or in close proximity to Natura 2000 sites (ROSPA0160, ROSPA0160, ROSPA0141 and ROSCI01999). The evaluation of the impact on the Natura 2000 sites in the project area is assessed in the presentation memorandum which concluded no potentially significant impact is expected on the functions of the species and habitats of community interest, or the populations, during construction on the Natura 2000 sites. The temporary impact related to noise that may disturb the fauna is reduced through mitigation measures, and the overall impact is not significant. It is assessed that the project is in full compliance with EU Directive no. 79/409/EEC on the protection of wild birds and EU Directive no. 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora; and overall, the project is assessed to have a positive impact on the Natura 2000 sites through the reduction of unplanned wastewater discharges into aquatic ecosystems.

The ESDD has concluded that the environmental impacts of the project have been assessed in full compliance with the new EU EIA Directive. All environmental approvals (EAs) including the final screening decision have been obtained for the investment project based on the final design. There were no comments or complaints received to date from the public during the public comment period or anytime during the procedure.

There will not be any involuntary resettlement of formal settlements, or expropriation, or any known use of currently occupied land.

The consultants have prepared a Stakeholder Engagement Plan ("SEP") and Environmental and Social Action ("ESAP"), which will need to be agreed with the client prior to the EBRD's board approval. The Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP), which among others includes obtaining final environmental approvals for the EIA and the AA; updating of E&S management system plans and procedures; development and implementation of construction E&S management plans (including biodiversity management of Natura 2000 areas); contractor management and monitoring; temporary use of land and possible economic displacements; development of chance find procedure; and implementation of the Stakeholder Engagement Plan.

The Environmental and Social Department will monitor the project and implementation of the SEP and ESAP through annual reports provided by the client.

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

The EBRD will mobilise funds from donors to support technical cooperation.

The Project benefited from pre-signing assignments included under SWIFT: technical and procurement review, environmental and social gap analysis, operational and financial due diligence of Apavital, legal and institutional due diligence on regionalisation. The amount of these assignments was EUR 102,000 and has been financed by the Bank's Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility.

In addition, the project will benefit of post-signing TCs:

Up to EUR 50,000 to be financed from the sector TC under the Memorandum of Understanding with Romania for the participation of the company in a national water sector programme including: strategic options for the development of the sector (water sector policy), new ways of financing, revised tariff methodology, asset management plans, benchmarking, training and capacity building.

Company Contact Information

nulloffice@cabuzau.ro
+400238711157
www.cabuzau.ro

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

26 Feb 2020

Understanding transition

Further information regarding the EBRD’s approach to measuring transition impact is available here.

Business opportunities

For business opportunities or procurement, contact the client company.

For business opportunities with the EBRD (not related to procurement) contact:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168
Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

For state-sector projects, visit EBRD Procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 6794
Email: procurement@ebrd.com

General enquiries

Specific enquiries can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form.

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

The ESP and its associated Environmental and Social Requirements (ESRs) set out the ways in which the EBRD implements its commitment to promoting “environmentally sound and sustainable development”. The ESP and the ESRs include specific provisions for clients to comply with the applicable requirements of national laws on public information and consultation, and to establish a grievance mechanism to receive and facilitate resolution of stakeholders’ concerns and grievances, in particular, about the environmental and social (E&S) performance of the client and the project. Proportionate to the nature and scale of a project’s environmental and social risks and impacts, the EBRD also requires its clients to disclose information, as appropriate, about the risks and impacts of projects or to undertake meaningful consultation with stakeholders and consider and respond to their feedback.

More information on the EBRD’s practices in this regard is set out in the ESP.

Integrity and compliance

The EBRD's Office of the Chief Compliance Officer (OCCO) promotes good governance and ensures that the highest standards of integrity are applied to all of the Bank's activities in accordance with international best practice. Integrity due diligence is conducted on all Bank clients to ensure that projects do not present unacceptable integrity or reputational risks to the Bank. The EBRD believes that identifying and resolving issues in the project assessment and approval stages is the most effective means of ensuring the integrity of Bank transactions. OCCO plays a key role in these protective efforts andhelps to monitor integrity risks in projects post-investment.

OCCO is further responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, corruption and misconduct in EBRD-financed projects. Anyone, either within or outside the Bank, who suspects fraud or corruption should submit a written report to the Chief Compliance Officer by email to compliance@ebrd.com. OCCO will follow-up all matters reported. It will review all matters reported. Reports can be made in any language of the Bank or of the Bank's countries of operation. The information provided must be made in good faith.

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP, which entered into force on 1 January 2025, sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD enquiries form.

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (for example, through the client’s project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the mechanism is: to support dialogue between project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or the project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate and how to submit a Request for review. Alternatively, contact IPAM by email at ipam@ebrd.com for guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.

Environmental and Social Documentation is not available for this project.

Selected procurement notices related to this project may be shown below. Further procurement opportunities related to this and other projects, if available, maybe be viewed in the EBRD Procurement Portal.

The EBRD's Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Access to Information policy (AIP) and Project Accountability Policy (PAP) enable sound and sustainable development in its projects. The Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) deals with complaints about environmental, social and disclosure matters related to the Bank’s investments.

No complaints about this project have been made so far.

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SWIFT Buzau sub-project

Overview

Project timeline

Company Contact Information

Project description

Project objectives

Transition impact

Client information

EBRD Finance Summary

Total project cost

Additionality

Environmental & Social Summary

Technical Cooperation and Grant Financing

Company Contact Information

Implementation summary

PSD last updated

Understanding transition

Business opportunities

General enquiries

Environmental and Social Policy (ESP)

Integrity and compliance

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)