EBRD provides €186M loan to boost sanitation in Fayoum

CAIRO - 28 May 2017: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will grant a €186 million loan to the Fayoum Water and Wastewater Company for the aim of expanding sanitation services, the lender said in a Saturday statement.

Signed with the Ministry of International Cooperation Sunday, the loan will be followed by other €172 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and €30 million investment grant and €7 million for technical assistance provided by the European Union.

The loan would be used in constructing eight new water treatment plants, expanding nine water units, rehabilitating 10 water plants, installing of 3,433 km of pipes, 139 pumping stations and dispatching 350 sewage removal trucks.

“Several international financial institutions are keen on supporting Egypt’s sanitation sector,” International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr said in a Sunday statement from the ministry.

Helping the sectors of tourism, agricultural and fishing sectors, the EBRD said the fund would support reducing pollution levels in Fayoum and boosting capacity of water treatment plants.

“Our aim is to improve the quality of life of nearly 10 million inhabitants, which is part of our ongoing support to the water sector, and the EU has allocated €425 million in grants, leveraging €2 billion in blended finance through European financial institutions to support the water sector in Egypt,” Ambassador Ivan Surkoš, Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt said in the statement.

The EBRD is currently negotiating to support the railway and renewable energy sectors, in coordination with the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Electricity, Nasr added.

Active in Egypt since 2012, the EBRD has funded a total of €2.3 billion in 43 projects in the sectors of finance, agribusiness, manufacturing, services and infrastructure projects.