EBRD to lend 365 mln euros for reconstruction of water supply in Azerbaijan's second city

BAKU. Sept 3 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will provide Azerbaijan with a loan of 365 million euros to support the reconstruction of water supply and wastewater treatment in the country's second city, Ganja.

The bank says in information on its website that the loan will be disbursed in several tranches.

In addition, an international donor will provide a grant of 5 million euros for the project.

The borrower will be the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry and the beneficiary will be the State Water Resources Agency.

"The project will be implemented under the EBRD's Green Cities program and aims to address the priority environmental challenge of water availability and quality identified in the Ganja Green City Action Plan (GCAP).The government prioritizes the project considering the acute need of improvement of deficient urban water and wastewater infrastructure in Ganja," the bank said.

Upon the project's completion it is expected that entire city of Ganja will be covered by uninterrupted water supply and wastewater sanitation services, and flood risks will be decreased by introducing a stormwater management system. The project will also have significant positive environmental impact for the region by ensuring that the wastewater is treated before being discharged into the Ganja River.

Environmental and social due diligence is currently ongoing. The first tranche will involve the rehabilitation of water supply and sanitation network, as well as stormwater management.

The approval date is November 6.

Azerbaijan has been an EBRD member since 1992. The bank has committed over 3.7 billion euros to finance 190 projects in Azerbaijan. The EBRD's current portfolio of 29 projects in Azerbaijan was estimated at 893 million euros as of July 31, 2024.