Brussels, 04/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending 5 million euro to Serbia and Montenegro for a project to ensure cleaner water supply in Montenegro, bringing it closer to EU environmental standards and helping it comply with the objectives of the Barcelona Convention and the Genoa Declaration on pollution reduction in the Mediterranean Sea. The purpose of the project, which will concentrate initially on the needs of the Adriatic coastal area and a few towns inland, is to reduce public health risks and enhance the region's attractiveness for tourism. By 2009, it is estimated approximately 1,500 jobs will be created and around 450,000 resident people are expected to benefit from this project, some components of which form part of the European Commission's Priority Environmental Investment Programme for the Balkans. The 5 million euro loan represents the first tranche of the total approved credit of 57 million euro.
This is the seventh operation signed between the EIB and the Republic of Montenegro since 2001. The last agreement, signed in December 2005, was for the rehabilitation of roads, and the EIB is presently appraising a project to further support investment in rail transport.