Under a finance contract dated 15 October 2015, the EU bank made available to the Georgian Ministry of Regional Development a loan of up to EUR 100 million, which will improve the wastewater collection and treatment in Kutaisi. The project is part of Georgia’s Water Sector Rehabilitation Program which consists in a series of investments that aim at improving water supply in Kutaisi, Ureki, Poti and Zugdidi and wastewater collection and treatment in Kutaisi, Ureki and Poti (Kutaisi Waste Water project).

EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák commented: “to implement the water sector projects in Georgia in more efficient way, we are combining our lending with EU grants. With today’s signature, it is the region of Kutaisi which will benefit from a modern water network and increased quality of water systems, backed by European financing”.

Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia Maya Tskitishvili has commented: “EIB is one of our largest financing partner in terms of infrastructural projects. So far, EIB has extended circa 1.3 billion EUR to support various public infrastructure projects, including roads, municipal infrastructure and water and wastewater sector. Today we signed the grant agreement with EIB for the financing of the Kutaisi Wastewater Project. Kutaisi is the country’s second largest city and this project will enable us to provide better living conditions for the local population. Currently, we are completing the final phase of works for the project and the actual construction will commence from 2019. This is a third project in the water sector that is being implemented with the support of our European partners and we do hope that our fruitful cooperation will serve as basis to finance other priority infrastructural projects in Georgia. Support provided by the EU and its member states through different instruments available within the framework of Eastern Partnership Trust Fund and Neighborhood Investment Facility is hugely valued and makes an important contribution towards the development of our country. “

Background information:

About EIB:

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's bank. It is the long-term lending institution of the EU and is the only bank owned by and representing the interests of the European Union Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investments in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. The EIB works closely with other EU institutions to implement EU policy.

As the largest multilateral borrower and lender by volume, the EIB provides finance and expertise for sound and sustainable investment projects which contribute to furthering EU policy objectives. More than 90% of EIB activity is focused on Europe but it also supports the EU's external and development policies.

About EPTATF

The Eastern Partnership Technical Assistance Trust Fund (EPTATF) is a multi-purpose and multi-sector funding instrument for specific technical support in the Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus (since August 2017), Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It provides these countries with know-how and resources to improve capacity in project preparation and implementation, which facilitates the mobilisation of financing for EIB-supported investments. EPTATF provides high added value because better project preparation increases the bankability of projects and improves the development impact of investments in the beneficiary countries.

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