The European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Union's long-term financing institution, is providing a loan of EUR 70 million for the modernisation and extension of wastewater collection and treatment facilities of the Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant, Northwest of Cairo.

The funds for this priority environmental investment to be commissioned end 2007, are advanced to Cairo Wastewater Organisation (CWO) and Cairo General Organisation for Sanitary Drainage (CGOSD).

The project targets the development of environmentally friendly infrastructures for wastewater collection and treatment for Cairo's West Bank area. The project is the outcome of a feasibility study financed by EIB through METAP EUR 350 000 grant. METAP grants have financed also the studies on the waste-water masterplan of Cairo, which materialised later in infrastructural works for improving and extending water and sewerage services on the East bank of Cairo, namely the construction of sewer tunnels and the extension of the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatement plant; EIB lending for these infrastructure operations amounted to EUR 90 million.

FEMIP is a major step forward in financial and economic cooperation between the Union and the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs). It foresees EUR 8-10 billion funding of investments in the MPCs by 2006. It has at its disposal funds under the existing Euro-Mediterranean mandates, risk capital resources from the EU budget as well as technical assistance and investment aid funds provided by the Union. FEMIP's top priority is to promote private sector development (especially SMEs and FDI) and support projects helping to establish a propitious climate for private investment (economic infrastructure, health and education schemes). FEMIP's ultimate goal is to help the MPCs meet the challenges of economic and social modernisation and enhance regional integration in the run-up to the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area planned for 2010.

Set up following the Barcelona European Council in March 2002, it was inaugurated in October 2002. During FEMIP's first full year of activity the Bank has extended over 1.8 billion of new loans and approved a pipeline of 17 new investment operations for another total amount of EUR 1.8 billion, benefiting to almost all MPCs. This led the recent Brussels European Council to further reinforce FEMIP by closer cooperation of the 27 Euromed Partner countries (15 EU, 2 Acceeding and 10 MPCs), more regional offices in the MPCs, and innovative financing instruments.

The EIB has had operational links with Egypt since 1978 and has channelled financing of some EUR 3.5 billion to this country. This has been concentrated on support for infrastructure, environmental schemes and private sector businesses - encompassing both large corporates stemming from cooperation between local and European operators and SMEs financed in partnership with the Egyptian banking sector. In 2002, the EIB provided EUR 225 million in Egypt for extension of the Cairo metro and the first phase of the Nubariya power plant as well as in equity funding for Egyptian SMEs. In 2003, the Bank lent EUR 600 million to finance the second phase of the Nubariya power plant and the Idku LNG plant.

On 1st October 2003, the EIB officially inaugurated the Bank's Cairo regional office, which has been operational since July 2003. Headed by Mr Luigi Marcon and with a constituency spanning the whole of the Near East, the office's mission, in addition to liaising with the MPC authorities of the region, is to optimise the process of project identification and monitoring. Another task is to facilitate the implementation of technical assistance both for projects and financial institutions in the beneficiary countries.