Moldova to borrow €20m for water supply program

Moldova intends to borrow €20 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) to implement a water supply program that is designed to reduce water waste and protect the water resources. At the same time, the European Commission will provide a grant of €10 million to Moldova through the Neighborhood Investment Facility, Info-Prim Neo reports. Under a Government Decision, the program will finance the water supply services in Falesti, Soroca, Hancesti, Ciadar-Lunga, Orhei, and Leova. The settlements that are in the vicinity of the key settlements will be also included in the program. The team that will negotiate the loans consists of Deputy Minister of the Environment Lazar Chirica, Deputy Minister of Construction and Territorial Development Veaceslav Gututui and other officials. It was preliminarily agreed that the €10 million loan from the EBRD will be repayable in 15 years with a grace period of 3 years, at the rate of interest EuroLIBOR +1. The €10 million from the EIB will be repaid in 25 years, with a grace period of 5 years, while the rate of interest will be set for every disbursed tranche. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar, the grant from the European Commission will be used to transform the loans granted by the EBRD and EIB at commercial interest rates into concessional loans. Lazar said that the donors could provide more money for similar programs if this pilot project is implemented successfully. The program will be launched in autumn.