OREANDA-NEWS. September 24, 2008. The EBRD is supporting the rehabilitation and upgrading of municipal district heating, water and wastewater services in the Siberian city of Pyt’Yakh with a 350 million rouble (equivalent to approximately EUR 10 million) loan. A more efficient and effective use of resources will be at the heart of the efforts, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The EBRD-financed programme will include the optimisation of heat consumption through the installation of individual heating substations in the municipal housing stock and public buildings. Boiler houses and distribution networks will be refurbished, and water supply and wastewater collection facilities will be upgraded.

The programme will be implemented by the municipal services management company which is the recipient of the EBRD loan. The company is introducing a gradual tariff reform based on affordability which will help it establish a sustainable business model.

Pyt’Yakh is a town of approximately 40,000 inhabitants and located in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (region) in western Siberia. The city is about 200 km west from the region’s main city Surgut. Pyt’Yakh was established in the 1960s following the discovery of the second largest oil field in western Siberia. Average temperatures in winter fall to as low as -24 centigrade, which makes the provision of heating a primary concern.

The new EBRD loan, signed on Tuesday, is part of the Khanty-Mansi Regional Municipal Services Development Programme under which the Bank has already provided two loans to the city of Surgut for municipal services and housing refurbishment. Due to the success of the programme other municipalities in the region are considering similar projects.

Thomas Maier, EBRD Business Group Director for Infrastructure, said “the project will bring significant efficiency improvements in the provision of services as well as in the operations of the municipal service company. The introduction of modern business standards will ultimately benefit both the municipality and its customers.”