EIB approves EUR 214 mn loan for Kitchener Drain depollution
The European Investment bank (EIB) approved a EUR 214 mn loan for Egypt’s Kitchener Drain depollution project, according to an Investment Ministry statement (pdf). The loan brings up the total financing pledged for the project to EUR 400 mn, with EUR 148 mn approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development earlier this year and a separate EUR 46 mn grant from the EU Neighborhood Investment Facility. The funds will be used to renovate 24 treatment plants, extend six others, and rehabilitate the entire Kitchener drain passing through Kafr El Sheikh, Gharbiya and Daqahliyah. EIB and Egypt signed last month on EUR 32 mn-worth of grants to support sewage treatment projects in Kafr el Sheikh.
Meanwhile, the EU is looking to grant Egypt as much as EUR 120 mn over the next three years to support its water security plans, EU ambassador Ivan Surkos said yesterday, according to Al Shorouk. The grants will be offered as part of the “EU4 Water in Egypt” program that is yet to launch.