Belgrade Water

Original PSD

Translated version of this PSD: Serbian

Project Description

• Provision of a senior loan of up to EUR 13 million to the Public Utility Company Belgrade Water and Sewerage (the "Company"), comprising 2 tranches: the first tranche of up to EUR 8.5 million ("Tranche 1") committed on 2 April 2015, and the second tranche of up to EUR 4.5 million ("Tranche 2") committed on 3 February 2016. The proceeds of Tranche 1 are being used to finance improvements in the water supply system, more specifically for (i) construction of a dual pipeline for transferring raw water from the Sava River to a water treatment plant; (ii) removal of excess sedimentation from the natural water reservoir; and (iii) construction of a pipeline for transferring water from the water treatment plant to the water supply network. The proceeds of Tranche 2 would be used for refurbishment of water treatment plan ("WTP") Jezero.
   
• Provision of additional EUR 1.5 million to support the Company in financing the full scope of WTP Jezero refurbishment, which has been estimated at EUR 6 million following further due diligence.

Project Objectives

The Project is expected to provide substantial environmental and public health benefits by improving accessibility to high quality drinking water and upgrading of the water supply infrastructure, in line with the EU Directives.

Transition Impact

Good

The transition impact potential of the Project arises from:

• Improved operating performance of the Company, and adherence to the best applicable procurement, environmental and financial reporting standards.
   
• Improved financial sustainability within Company through improved cost recovery and operating efficiencies introduced by a financial and operational performance improvement programme ("FOPIP").

Client Information

WATER AND SEWAGE COMPANY OF THE CITY OF BELGRADE

Public Utility Company Belgrade Waterworks and Sewerage is the sole company providing potable water in Serbia's capital. Its key responsibilities are water collection, treatment and distribution, as well as wastewater collection and discharge.

EBRD Finance Summary

EUR 14,500,000.00

Up to EUR 14.5 million loan to the Public Utility Company Belgrade Waterworks and Sewerage.

Total Project Cost

EUR 14,500,000.00

Environmental and Social Summary

Categorised B. The Project will provide substantial environmental and health benefits for the city of Belgrade by strengthening the accessibility to high quality drinking water supply in accordance with relevant EU standards.

The Environmental and Social Due Diligence ("ESDD") for Tranche 1 undertaken in 2014 covered three project components financed under Tranche 1, the existing operations and assets at Makis WTP complex (Makis 1, Makis 2 and Jezero) and the Company's wider water and wastewater assets, and it also included an assessment of climate change risk on the Company's operations. The ESDD also reviewed an Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") which had been prepared for the wider project (Extension of Drinking Water Treatment Plant Makis) in 2005. The 2014 ESDD concluded that
the project would result in significant environmental and social benefits and that any adverse impacts would be limited mainly to the construction period, and that these can be effectively mitigated by adhering to good construction practices. An Environmental and Social Action Plan ("ESAP"), which includes actions that will ensure compliance of the Project with EBRD's Performance Requirements, was developed and agreed with the client.

Further technical, environmental and social due diligence was carried out in 2016 for the refurbishment of Jezero WTP (Tranche 2) and the ESAP agreed for Tranche 1 was amended to include additional mitigation measures specific to implementation of the Jezero WTP.

To date the Company has provided annual environmental and social (E&S) reports that show overall compliance with E&S requirements and good progress with the implementation of the ESAP. BVK completed certification for its internal Integrated Management System (IMS) in 2016 that also covers environmental and occupational health and safety management. BVK will need to make sure Contractors for works under both Tranches prepare a site specific Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) and Health and Safety (H&S) Management plan in line with ESAP requirements and share copies of these plans with the Bank. The Bank will carry out a monitoring visit to the project in 2017 to review the E&S compliance and performance in detail, with a specific focus on occupational health and safety on the site to identify whether further improvements are necessary.

Technical Cooperation

EBRD will mobilise funds from donors to support the following technical cooperation:

Pre-signing

• Tranche 1 - Environmental and Social due diligence, and technical due diligence comprising review of the existing designs and other project documentation (EUR 75,000, funded from the Bank's own resources).
   
• Tranche 2 - Environmental and Social due dilligence (EUR 40,000, funded from the EBRD Special Shareholder Fund ("SSF")).

Post-signing

• Financial and Operational Performance Improvement Programme (FOPIP) to provide assistance to the Company to improve their financial and operational activities to ensure they are more efficient, including business planning, advice on tariff reform, elimination of cross subsidy, modernisation of HR policies, strengthening of the inter-department communication system and strategic capacity building (EUR 315,000, proposed to be funded by an international donor or the SSF).
   
• Tranche 1 - Project implementation support to include assistance to the PIU covering preparation of tender documents, procurement and construction supervision (EUR 290,000, funded by the Government of Austria).
   
• Tranche 2 - Project implementation support to include assistance to the PIU covering preparation of tender documents, procurement and construction supervision (EUR 400,000, proposed to be funded by an international donor or SSF).
   
• Procurement Benchmarking for the purpose of Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply("CIPS") certification (EUR 40,000, to be financed from the SSF).

Company Contact Information

Public Utility Company Belgrade Water and Sewerage
www.bvk.rs

 

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