EBRD is providing a credit line of €5m to Romania’s largest water company Raja Constanta

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New EBRD financing for Romania’s largest water and wastewater company. (Credit: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the water utility sector in Romania with a standby liquidity facility of up to €5 million to SC Raja Constanta SA (RAJA), the largest regional water and wastewater company in the country, to help it cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its business.

The facility comes under the Vital Infrastructure Programme of the EBRD’s Solidarity Package which includes emergency liquidity for key infrastructure providers such as RAJA.

Majority owned by the county of Constanta, RAJA serves more than three million domestic, industrial and public-sector clients in seven counties of Romania. It is a longstanding client of the EBRD and to date has received five loans worth a total of €101 million. Previous financing helped the company achieve compliance with EU directives on water quality and wastewater collection and treatment.

As part of its work with the Bank, RAJA has committed to significantly reducing water losses. Under a performance-based contract that RAJA signed with Administração e Gestão de Sistemas de Salubridade the Portuguese water company is undertaking necessary upgrades while providing a performance guarantee. The EBRD has assisted RAJA in preparing the contract, the first of its kind in the Romanian water sector.

The EBRD is a major investor in Romania. To date, it has invested €8.8 billion in the country’s economy through 454 projects. The Bank’s activity is currently fully dedicated to helping the economies where it invests, and private sector companies, to overcome the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Company Press Release