Nov. 13, 2002 -- Residents of Tallinn, Estonia's capital city, are expected to benefit from improved water and waste-water management services following a €80 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to Tallinna Vesi (ASTV), the local water company co-owned by the city and operators International Water and United Utilities.
The bank will syndicate €50 million of the loan to international commercial banks.
The loan will help ASTV enter a new phase in its continuing development by improving the efficiency of its balance sheet following its privatization in 2001. The loan will also help the company meet European Union environmental standards for water and waste-water services.
Thomas Maier, the EBRD's Director for Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure, said the Bank's loan will help the company improve many of its services, benefiting the people of Tallinn. He said the project is a good example of the Bank's willingness to support public-private partnerships in Estonia, and hopes this will encourage similar projects in all the Baltic countries.
Bob Gallienne, CEO of ASTV said: "We are already making steady progress in improving standards of service for the people of Tallinn. This loan will provide us with the capability to accelerate this improvement through the delivery of our capital works programme."
This EBRD loan builds on a €22.5 million Bank loan to Tallinna Vesi signed in 1994, to finance the rehabilitation of water and waste-water treatment plants, ground water wells and waste-water networks. ASTV is one of the first utility companies to be privatised in the Baltic States.
Mr Maier said the project is in line with the EBRD's strategy to promote the private sector in municipal projects in Estonia through public private partnerships. To date the EBRD has financed €372.7 million for 58 projects in Estonia.
For more information, visit http://www.ebrd.com/.
