The EBRD is supporting the modernization of municipal infrastructure in Medias, a city in the central Romanian region of Transylvania, with a local currency loan of RON 33 million worth the equivalent of EUR 7.85 million.
The credit will address urgent infrastructure needs in Medias, the second largest industrial city in Sibiu County, home to a number of large natural resource and industrial companies.
Extended in local currency, under the EBRD’s Urban Road Management and Rehabilitation Framework, the loan will help Medias municipality to mitigate foreign exchange risk. It will be used to finance investment in a comprehensive street rehabilitation programme and related water and wastewater network investments.
As part of the project, 47 road segments with a total length of over 12.5 km within Medias city centre will be modernised, as well as 5.7 km of streets in the nearby village of Ighisul Nou. In addition water supply, wastewater and storm water collection networks along these segments will be rehabilitated.
The EBRD loan is supported by a EUR 265,000 in grant financing for technical due diligence as well as procurement and implementation support. The technical assistance is being provided by the Bank and the government of Portugal.
In 2010 the EBRD provided similar loans to the municipalities Sibiu and Sfantu Gheorghe. The Bank’s Urban Road Management and Rehabilitation Framework features performance-based road contracting that will improve the quality of road management and maintenance.