Add us as your preferred source on Google to see more of our content in Search.
Add to Preferred SourcesThe European Investment Bank is extending a loan of EUR 110m to Belarus to finance the rehabilitation and upgrade of a 91 km long section of the M7 highway.
This is part of the extended Trans-European Transport network. The project also includes the modernisation of the associated border-crossing infrastructure between Belarus and Lithuania at Kamienny Loh. The investment will increase road transport capacity and create safer driving conditions. The M7 is a strategic transport corridor, representing the shortest route from the Klaipeda port on the Baltic Sea in Lithuania through Kaunas and Vilnius to Minsk, Kyiv, and ultimately to the Black Sea.
The EIB is also lending EUR 66m to improve access to clean and affordable potable water and adequate sanitation services for some 500,000 households, improve the quality of natural waters by reducing pollution and untreated effluents, and improve water use efficiency. This will have positive impacts on the everyday life and health of the Belarusian population. A grant from the Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) will facilitate the implementation of this project
EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák commented: “These projects, backed by our EU partners and international financial institutions, follow the launch of EIB lending operations in Belarus last year. They will have a significant impact on the quality of life of Belarus’ citizens in terms of better water services and improved transport connectivity. Both investments will strengthen the country’s competitiveness and economic development.
Both loans are covered by the European Union’s Comprehensive Guarantee and bring the EIB lending commitment in Belarus to EUR 335m.
Original source: EIB
Published on 25 July 2019