The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €4.5 million loan for the completion of a key infrastructure project in Zadar, the fifth-largest city in Croatia, and a popular tourist destination on the Adriatic coast.
The Bank’s financing will complement EU Cohesion Funds of €42 million extended to Odvodnja d.o.o. Zadar, a municipal company providing wastewater services to around 80,000 people in the city and its surrounding areas.
The project includes the construction and rehabilitation of a wastewater pipeline and a collector network of over 100 kilometres, 17 pump stations, and a household connectivity increase from 75 to 95 percent.
The investment will benefit the local population’s quality of life and ensure the sustainable development of Zadar and its neighbouring municipalities, as the city was attracting more than 1.4 million tourist arrivals annually before the coronavirus pandemic.
Victoria Zinchuk, EBRD Director for Croatia, said: “We are pleased to support this investment, which will result in more sustainable and efficient wastewater management through enhanced network connectivity in the Zadar region. It underlines the EBRD’s commitment to support Croatian municipalities in the difficult period of the coronavirus pandemic.”
The EBRD signed its first project in Croatia in 1994 and it has invested over €3.9 billion in 219 projects to date. The Bank’s activities include all areas of the economy with a special focus on the infrastructure, corporate, financial institutions, and energy sectors.
Original source: EBRD
