The noncompliant waste dumps and a number of smaller unauthorized landfills will be liquidated within a project financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). There will also be built a regional sanitary waste dump in accordance with the EU standards. The goal is to reduce the amount of waste thrown illegally and to modernize the waste management system. The €25 million agreement with the EBRD was signed in Chisinau on Wednesday, IPN reports.

The loan is part of a wider financing package, with the European Investment Bank (EIB) providing an additional €25 million sovereign loan as well as investment grants from international donors.

 The EBRD’s investment will support improvements in the solid waste management system of three Waste Management Zones under Moldova’s Solid Waste Management Strategy. It will finance the purchase of waste collection and transfer assets such as waste containers and collection vehicles, as well as construction of solid waste disposal and treatment infrastructure, such as landfills and material sorting and treatment facilities.

The first Waste Management Zone to benefit from the EBRD’s support under the project includes Ungheni, Nisporeni and Calarasi districts, requiring an estimated investment of circa €19.48 million. It will be financed by the first tranche of €6.94 million of the EBRD’s loan, with a similar amount provided by the EIB.

The Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P), to which the European Union (EU) is the largest donor, will also provide an investment grant of up to €5.6 million for its rehabilitation. The project also benefits from technical cooperation support funded by Sweden.

The project enables the expansion, regionalisation, and creation of a consolidated regional solid waste management system in the participating zones. It is expected to serve as a blueprint for a sustainable solid waste management system across the country.