The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed today a USD 50 million loan to support an investment programme to improve water quality and sanitation conditions in the Panama Oeste Province.
The Project features a 400 km sewer network - including household connections, collectors and a wastewater treatment plant with adequate capacity to accommodate projected population growth and increased demand for sanitation services in the area until 2050. The EIB loan will focus on the construction of sewer mains, networks and household connections in San Bernardino (Arraiján district) and Martín Sánchez (La Chorrera district).
Supporting the national Panama Sanitation Project (PSP), this will be the second water project under the PSP in the Panamanian Western Province, and the third including the two previous operations in the Panama Metropolitan Area.
It forms part of the Panamanian Government’s five-year strategic plan (Plan Estrategico Quinquenal 2015-2019), which highlights the water sector as one of its priority areas, including drinking and waste water treatment and improving the availability, quality and management of water services. The project provides the district of Chorrea with full wastewater collection and treatment services.
The project is also co-financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), which acts as the leading international financial institution (IFI) in this project, the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID), the Latin American Development Bank (CAF), the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Republic of Panama.
Commenting on the financing operation, EIB Vice President, Emma Navarro said: “The European Investment Bank is pleased to support this project in Panama which aims to improve environmental infrastructure and waste water treatment. This project helps to address environmental challenges in the country, contributing to climate change mitigation - one of the EIB’s strategic operational priorities.”
The project will lead to a significant reduction of pollution in a growing area and will contribute to reducing health related risks associated to the lack of adequate sanitation services. The Bank granted the loan to the Republic of Panama under the Climate Action and Environment Facility (CAEF). This is the EIB’s ninth operation in Panama, in a country where the EIB has provided loans totaling EUR 810 million to support investment projects.
The Bank began its operations in Latin America in 1993. Under the current External Lending Mandate for Latin America, covering the period 2014-2020 (ELM), it is authorised to lend up to EUR 2.3 billion to finance projects supporting the development of economic, environmental and social infrastructure; climate change mitigation and adaptation or local private sector development, in particular SMEs.