EBRD provides loan to Tajikistan for improvement of solid waste management in Khujand

DUSHANBE, November 26, 2011 Asia-Plus  -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a loan of 2.5 million U.S. dollars to Tajikistan for implementation of the Khujand solid waste management project, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF)’s Secretariat.

A loan agreement between the EBRD and the State Unitary Enterprise “Khizmatrasonii Naqliyoti Sanitari” took place at the Ministry of Finance in Dushanbe on November 25.  

This project will improve solid waste management services in Khujand that, in turn, will lead to improvement of the environmental situation.  The project is dedicated to upgrade the existing landfill, making it sanitary and prolong its life by at least 15 years.

The project objectives include: 1) rehabilitation of waste collection, transportation, recycling and disposal services in Khujand and the surrounding area; 2) restructuring of the waste management sector to increase operational efficiency and hygiene standards; and 3) the commercialization and corporatization of the waste management operations of the solid waste management company to convert it into a financially and operationally self-sustainable entity.

The EBRD loan of US$ 2.5 million is matched by an investment grant of US$ 2.5 million from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund.  Separately the Bank provides and funds technical cooperation associated with the project, to the value of US$ 1 million, funded by the European Union and the Bank’s Early Transition Countries fund, which among other things will look into possible future ways for private participation in the sector.

The project is scheduled to be finished before March 31, 2015.