The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced that it is supporting improved access to water and wastewater services in Romania’s Braila County by extending a loan of up to EUR 14.2 million to SC Compania de Utilitati Publice Dunarea SA Braila, the county’s public utilities provider.
According to a statement, the loan will be provided alongside a co-investment from the European Union (EU) under its Infrastructure Operational Programme for Romania.
The financing follows nine earlier loans to Romanian counties extended under the EBRD’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Facility to support Transition (SWIFT), which builds on the Bank’s long-term work to improve services and help bring the sector in line with EU laws, policies, and practices.
To date, the EBRD has financed 25 water operators in Romania, providing a total of close to EUR 450 million in loans, alongside almost EUR 5 billion of EU funding for the country’s water and wastewater facilities.
The EBRD’s investment, alongside EU funds, will enable the Braila Country utility company to complete a EUR 240.8 million investment program. This will extend its service coverage for drinking water supply and wastewater collection and treatment, in line with EU standards, bringing necessary services to smaller municipalities and localities in the county.
As a result, just under 200,000 residents, including those in rural, underserved areas, will benefit from increased access to water and wastewater treatment services.
Braila County’s public utility company is also set to benefit from these investments, as improvements in water and wastewater infrastructure will significantly reduce water losses and increase connection rates to water and wastewater networks by 2027. The project will also address the low representation of women in the sector with training to encourage their recruitment and retention.
The main activity of the Braila company, which has been an EBRD client since 1997, is the management of water resources, including the distribution and treatment of water and wastewater services to the City of Braila as well as three other localities – Ianca, Faurei, and Insuratei – and 41 smaller rural communities in Braila County.
The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Romania. To date, the Bank has invested almost EUR 11 billion in 525 projects across the country.
