OREANDA-NEWS. July 21, 2011. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending EUR 6.5 million as a sovereign loan to the Republic of Armenia to improve water supply and wastewater services in 17 municipalities across Armenia, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The funds will be on-lent to the state-owned Armenian Water and Sewerage Company (AWSC) to finance the rehabilitation of water and wastewater networks. In addition, the company will complete the construction of two wastewater treatment plants.

The project will significantly reduce water leakages and improve drinking water availability for approximately 300,000 residents.

In addition to the EBRD’s funding, the European Union Neighbourhood Investment Facility will provide a EUR 7 million grant to implement further capital invetments.

The project will further receive up to EUR 2 million in technical cooperation grants from several donors. The Canadian Government has contributed EUR 200,000 to assist AWSC in preparing an investment programme. The remaining grant funds are contributed from the EBRD’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility, the Shareholders’ Special Fund and the ETC Fund.

These funds will be used to assist AWSC with the development of a programme for commercialisation and organisational improvements of the company, as well as to support the implementation of the investment programme.

This will be the EBRD’s second project in the Armenian water sector. Since the beginning of its operations in Armenia in 1992, the EBRD has invested over EUR 400 million in 100 projects in the country’s financial, corporate and energy sectors, and infrastructure, with 96 per cent of the projects’ being investments into the development of the private sector.