The financing will be used for investments that will increase the percentage of wastewater that is treated in the coming years.
WD News: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and wastewater treatment company Aquafin are continuing to build on their long-standing working relationship by entering into a financing contract worth €200 million. This is the 12th loan agreement that the parties have concluded since they started working together in 1994. To date, the EIB has provided more than €2 billion to fund the expansion and improvement of water treatment in Flanders.
The money will be used by Aquafin to support 150 optimisation projects that contribute to climate change mitigation (taking action to limit climate change) and climate adaptation (taking action to adjust to the current effects of climate change). A total of €81.7 million will be invested in 41 projects that focus on the separation of stormwater in order to cope with the effects of more intense precipitation and long periods of drought. This is because stormwater is best kept where it lands if possible, where it can be infiltrated into the soil or stored in buffers for reuse.
“This funding shows that we will continue to be able to count on them following the implementation of the new collaborative agreement with the Flemish region,” said Aquafin CEO Jan Goossens.
EIB Vice-President Kris Peeters added: “The EIB has invested for decades in improving water management in Belgium, and this has had a huge impact on the day-to-day lives of everyone in the country. In the coming years, water — and clean water in particular — will become increasingly important to society and the economy, including in the context of climate change. I’m therefore extremely proud that the European Investment Bank has been able to play such a key role in this.”
Source: European Investment Bank (EIB)
Image courtesy: Aquafin
