Brussels, 06/12/2010 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB), the Région Bruxelles-Capitale (RBC) and HYDROBRU (Intercommunale bruxelloise de distribution et d'assainissement d'eau) sealed agreements in Brussels on Friday 3 December allowing for the funding of work to improve the sewage and rainwater drainage networks in the Brussels region. The EIB loan of €168 million will cover nearly half of all investment planned until 2014. The vast programme costing around €1.5 billion aims over the next 20 years to ensure all sewers are repaired in the 19 communes of the Région Bruxelles-Capitale, setting in place a modern and effective system. The current sanitation network in the region has around 2,000 km of canalisation. Developed at the end of the 19th century, it is sadly in need of repair today, to such an extent in fact that roadways have been known to collapse, this being costly to repair. The situation is now urgent and some sections require renovation as soon as possible, the EIB states in a press release. The EIB considers such funding comes within the framework of action for better management of the environment and for sustainable development, along the lines of the EU's environmental policy. (O.L./transl.jl)