OREANDA-NEWS. Residents of five municipalities located near Lake Sevan in Central Armenia will benefit from improved wastewater management services following a ?7 million sovereign loan from EBRD to the Republic of Armenia, reported the press-centre of EBRD. The funds will be on-lent to the state-owned Armenian Water and Sewerage Company to finance three wastewater treatment plants and network rehabilitation in the municipalities Gavar, Vardenis, Martuni, Sevan and Jermuk.


This will be EBRD’s first municipal and environmental infrastructure project in Armenia. The loan provided by the Bank is complemented by a ?5 million grant from the European Commission and the Early Transition Countries Initiative Fund will provide technical co-operation grants of ?1,2 million for implementation support and advisory services. Lake Sevan covers fifteen per cent of Armenia and is a place of natural beauty and historic significance. The project will support efforts to achieve compliance with Armenian and EU environmental standards for wastewater treatment.


Alexander Auboeck, EBRD Business Group Director for Infrastructure said by combining a loan with a capital grant the project is a good example of how the Bank can help make municipal investments affordable even when commercial long term financing is not available. Armenia is part of the EBRD’s Early Transition Countries Initiative, which was launched in 2004 to stimulate market activity in the Bank’s lowest-income countries of operation. To-date, the EBRD has invested almost ?120 million in more than 40 projects in Armenia.