Today, 29 January 2020, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, the Bank) signed an investment loan agreement with Water & Sewerage Ruse Ltd. (W&S Ruse, the Company). Under the loan agreement, the Company will receive financing in the amount of EUR 8.7 million for building W&S infrastructure in areas served by a single W&S operator (WSO).
The cooperation and collaborative effort of the EBRD and the Fund of Funds (FoF) produced a facility which provides loan-based financing to Water & Sewerage companies at favourable terms. The facility is available only to consolidated W&S operators. The provision of loans is subject to review and guarantees an improvement of the operators’ financial performance so as to enable them make sustainable use of EU Funds.
Having secured the financial resources required for its own contribution to the project, the Company now looks forward to implementing its ambitions investment programme which will result in immediate improvement of Rousse’s water infrastructure and will help the WSO achieve its environmental goals.
The agreed loan is EBRD’s first investment in the framework of the Water Sector Development Facility – a new, holistic solution for supporting the water sector designed in partnership with the FoF. The financial resources are provided by Operational Programme Environment 2014–2020 (OPE), co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds and the EBRD.
Building on its wealth of experience in financing the sector, and in the framework of its partnership with the FoF, the Bank has undertaken the key role of the institution which will implement the financial facility in the market. The EBRD works intensively with all Water and Sewerage operators that are eligible for OPE financing, and with a wide range of other stakeholders. As a result of this intensive work, this year the EBRD expects to conclude more investment loan agreements with other W&S operators.
- made the following comments on the occasion of the signature of loan agreement with W&S Rousse: ‘The signing of the loan agreement will enable W&S Rousse to finance the rehabilitation of its amortized water and sewerage infrastructure, and thereby reduce water losses, improve its efficiency and strengthen its financial resilience. In addition to financing, we plan to provide technical assistance to the Company so that it can introduce a programme for financial and operational improvement focused on reducing losses and improving efficiency, which in the end of the day will benefit end-users’.
- Today’s agreement continues our successful collaboration with the EBRD which extends to us both financing resources and partnership. The projects to be supported with the resources agreed today will help us improve our efficiency and achieve compliance with European standards’.
The ceremony was also attended by Mr Alexander Georgiev, Executive Director of the FoF. Mr Georgiev said: ‘What makes the Water Sector Development Facility an important product of our portfolio offering is its significant amount as well as its strategic importance to society. Today’s event results from the extensive work of many institutions and starts a new approach to the financing of investments in the Water sector. The combination of grants with financial instruments makes these investments more sustainable and enables us achieve more outputs with less inputs.’
