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EBRD lends €22 million to Compania de Apa Bacau in Romania -
Loan to finance modernisation of Bacau County’s water and wastewater infrastructure -
Project, co-financed with European Union, aims to improve local access to water
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting improved access to water and wastewater services in Romania’s Bacau County by extending a €22 million loan to Compania de Apa Bacau, the county’s water and wastewater services provider.
The loan will be provided alongside a co-investment from the European Union (EU) under its Infrastructure Operational Programme for Romania.
The financing follows nine earlier loans to Romanian counties under the EBRD’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Facility to support Transition (SWIFT), which builds on the Bank’s long-term work to improve services and help bring the sector in line with EU laws, policies and practices.
To date, the EBRD has financed 25 water operators in Romania, providing a total of close to €450 million in loans alongside over €5 billion of EU funding for the country’s water and wastewater facilities.
The EBRD’s investment, alongside EU funds, will enable Compania de Apa Bacau to complete a €577 million investment programme. This will extend its service coverage for drinking water supply and wastewater collection and treatment, in line with EU standards, bringing necessary services to smaller municipalities and localities in the county.
As a result, some 600,000 residents, including those in rural, underserved areas, will benefit from increased access to water and wastewater treatment services.
Compania de Apa Bacau is also set to benefit from these investments, as improvements in water and wastewater infrastructure will significantly reduce water losses and increase connection rates to water and wastewater networks by 2027.
Compania de Apa Bacau, which has been a client of the EBRD since 2000, has been implementing a comprehensive programme of substantial real term tariff increases and inflation adjustments, together with a broad range of operation and financial performance improvement measures.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Romania. To date, the Bank has invested almost €11 billion in 525 projects across the country.