Construction of a new wastewater treatment plant has started in the city of Brest in Belarus, which has been co-financed by Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).
Brest, a city of 340,000 people in western Belarus, is located in the catchment area of the Baltic Sea and its effluent has a significant direct impact on the marine environment.
The project will help the city to achieve the wastewater treatment efficiency and nutrient removal to a level compliant with the recommendations issued by the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission HELCOM.
The €25m loan for improvements in wastewater treatment in the cities of Brest and Grodno was signed by the Bank and the Republic of Belarus in December 2012.
The environmental projects in Belarus have also received a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and grant financing from the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership and the governments of Finland and Sweden.