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Egypt to borrow €186m from EBRD

May 29, 2017 at 4:51 am

Egypt signed yesterday a €186m loan agreement ($ 207.9 million) with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for funding infrastructure projects in the Egyptian southern province of Fayoum.

The Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, announced that the loan aims at developing sanitation and wastewater services for the Fayoum governorate residents.

“We are moving quickly to respond to the urgent priorities of citizens in all governorates. We are confident that the EBRD is a key partner and will provide all the necessary support for the immediate implementation of the project,” Nasr said

According to EBRD’s press statement yesterday, the loan aims at improving the living conditions of the Fayoum’s three million inhabitants, of whom around one million will have access to the sanitation services ”for the first time.”

“The EBRD financing will be complemented by a loan of 172 million provided by the European Investment Bank, while the EU Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) is extending an investment grant of 30 million and over 7 million for technical assistance,” the statement added.

The funding will support the construction of eight new wastewater treatment plants, the expansion of nine units, the rehabilitation of ten plants, and the installation of 3,433 kilometres of pipes and 139 pumping stations. In addition, it will facilitate the procurement of 350 sewage removal trucks to serve remote rural communities.

The planned investment will also increase the treatment capacity of the Fayoum Water and Wastewater Company by almost 300,000 cubic metres per day as well as providing sanitation services to almost 90 per cent of the rural population in Fayoum, up from a current level of 30 per cent.

“The expansion of the wastewater treatment facilities will also substantially reduce the level of pollution caused by untreated domestic wastewater and the contamination of surface and ground water, which affects many waters including Lake Qarun, the third-largest lake in Egypt,” according to the bank statement.

EBRD has a long and lasting commitment to work with Egypt in various sectors. Since 2012, the bank has invested about €1.6 billion ($1.8 billion) in Egypt.