OREANDA-NEWS. The EBRD is helping to provide some 170,000 people with safe water and sanitation services in Prahova county in south-eastern Romania while also greatly reducing the losses that occur in the water treatment process.

The Bank is providing a 9.2 million euro loan to SC Hidroprahova SA, the water and wastewater operator for the Prahova area, to help finance its 146.2 million euro investment programme. The EBRD loan is being provided alongside EU Cohesion Funds of €116.5 million as well as funding from the local and state governments.  

The investment programme will raise the quality of drinking water in line with EU directives and will increase access to water and sewerage services in the company’s service area. The investment is also expected to significantly reduce SC Hidroprahova’s water losses while lowering the operating costs of the company.

Once the programme is completed, 96 per cent of the population in the project area is expected to be connected to a safe water supply, while for wastewater the connection rate in the project area is expected to increase to 91 per cent.

The project will also promote renewable energy investments through an important energy efficiency element: SC Hidroprahova plans to introduce between 3,000 and 5,000 solar panels with a total installed capacity of 0.8-1 MW in its wastewater treatment plants.

The project includes the extension and modernisation of SC Hidroprahova’s water and wastewater networks in eight agglomerations in Prahova county: Breaza, Baicoi, Campina, Mizil, Plopeni, Sinaia, Urlati and Valenii de Munte.