The European Union and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a grant agreement to support modernization in the Tajik southern city of Kulob, according to the EBRD Dushanbe Resident Office
The document was reportedly inked in Dushanbe today by Mr. Mark Bowman, Vice President for Policy and Partnerships at the EBRD and Ms. Marjeta Jager, Deputy Director-General for International Partnership at the European Commission on the sidelines of the Second High-Level International Conference dedicated to the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028”.
The European Union grant complements a sovereign loan of €7.5 million extended by the EBRD to the Republic of Tajikistan for the state enterprise for Kulob water and wastewater services (KMK) to rehabilitate the key water supply and wastewater infrastructure in the city.
The funds will be used to upgrade the network including water mains, intakes and pumping stations. They will also help modernize KMK’s wastewater treatment plant, the wastewater network and facilitate the procurement and installation of water meters.
Upon the implementation of the project, over 100,000 inhabitants of Kulob, which is Tajikistan’s fourth-largest city, will receive access to an improved water supply and water treatment services and water losses will be reduced by up to 35 percent.
The project provides for financing the engineering and technical support for project implementation and the corporate development program, which includes creation of a Kulob regional water company and the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards.
To date, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has invested about 900 million euros through 152 projects in Tajikistan’s economy.
