KfW supports efficient urban wastewater disposal in Cape Town

In the presence of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW signed a loan agreement with the City of Cape Town in the amount of EUR 80 million to promote energy-efficient and environmentally and economically sustainable urban wastewater disposal.

The funds will support the modernisation and expansion of the 22 existing plants under the scope of the “Climate Initiative for Urban Wastewater Disposal in Cape Town”. This is KfW’s first direct cooperation with a municipality in a Financial Cooperation (FC) partner country.

“Through the modernisation of its wastewater management facilities, Cape Town will be better equipped to face climate change and deal with scarce water resources induced by periods of drought,” said Dr. Günther Bräunig, Chief Executive Officer of KfW Group.

The aim is also to increase energy efficiency by replacing the plants, some of which are more than 50 years old. By increasing the maximum capacity of the wastewater plants, more water will be available for use in agriculture, industry and tourism.

The plan also includes improved treatment of the sewage sludge and the associated reduction of methane gas emissions.

This project is the first measure in the framework of the “Clean Oceans Initiative” that was founded in October by KfW together with the European Investment Bank and the French development bank AFD. The initiative aims to promote sustainable projects that reduce pollution of the world’s oceans with a total volume of EUR 2 billion.

Original source: KfW
Published on 20 November 2018