SC Apa-Canal Sibiu use the EBRD loan for the construction, extension and rehabilitation of water supply and wastewater treatment systems.
The funds will also be used to advance the quality of water supply and sanitation services to nearly 280,000 people in the central Romanian county of Sibiu.
The European bank has allocated the loan under EUR200m Regional EU cohesion fund co-financing framework launched in 2010.
EBRD said the framework is expected to call up additional investments of about EUR1.5bn in the country’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
EBRD director of municipal and environmental infrastructure Jean-Patrick Marquet said that in 2010, the Bank provided EUR105.6m to finance similar investments in Constanta, Iasi, Brasov, Buzau and Dambovita-Targoviste counties, helping to advance the quality of water supply and waste water services across the country and align the services to the EU standards.
Apa-Canal Sibiu director general Mircea Niculescu said that the cooperation that started in 2005 between the firm, the city of Sibiu and the EBRD, continues with the project.
"The EBRD’s investment will provide the needed co-financing, which will enable the firm to implement a substantial program financed by the EU Cohesion Funds," Niculescu said.
So far, the European bank has allocated about EUR5.4bn to various sectors of the country’s economy in Romania.
The water infrastructure project is part of the EUR124m EU cohesion funds programme, which will enable the company to reduce water leakages, optimise operating costs and bring its wastewater collection and treatment system in line with EU regulations and standards.
SC Apa-Canal Sibiu provides its services for residents in 34 administrative units in the southern, central and north-western part of Sibiu county as well as those in Fagaras town located in the neighbouring Brasov county.
