The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a EUR8 mln loan to Armenia to finance the construction of a solid waste landfill in Yerevan that complies with EU regulations.

According to EBRD Armenian office, the loan is co-financed by a EUR8 mln credit line from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a capital grant of EUR8 mln from the European Union Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF).

The legal agreements were signed today in Yerevan by Armenia’s Minister of Finance, the Yerevan municipality and the EBRD.

The new landfill will be located in Nubarashen and will meet international standards and operate as a commercially sustainable unit with modern solid-waste management systems, covering the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste. The facility, located on the outskirts of Yerevan, will provide major environmental and social benefits for the 1.1 million residents of the Armenian capital.

Complementing the EBRD funding, technical cooperation for project preparation is provided by the government of Austria, while post-investment grant funding for procurement and tender support has been pledged by the government of the Czech Republic.

Additionally, a stakeholder participation and city support programme will be financed by the EBRD Early Transition Countries (ETC) Fund.

It is the second landfill project in Armenia, following the Kotayk landfill signed in 2014.

Since the start of its operations in Armenia in 1992, the EBRD has invested over EUR974 mln in 143 projects in the Armenia’s financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 86 per cent of the investments being in the private sector.