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Tashkent will become a cleaner city with EBRD assistance
A US$ 19.2 million (ECU 16 million) loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will help the City of Tashkent to bring its municipal solid waste management system in line with international standards and practices. The loan, signed yesterday, is guaranteed by the Republic of Uzbekistan. In addition, the project is financed jointly with the World Bank, whose loan of US$ 24 million was signed on 10 November 1998.
"This is a pioneering operation," said Johan Bastin, Director of the Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure team at the EBRD. "It is the EBRD’s first loan to a municipality in Uzbekistan, and the first international loan taken by the City of Tashkent. The EBRD is committed to improving the environmental situation in central and eastern Europe and the CIS, but this project was only possible with Tashkent’s own determination to reform its solid waste sector."
The project will address severe environmental problems and public health hazards, in particular the threat of contamination of the city’s groundwater reserves. Proceeds will be used to renew Tashkent’s waste collection vehicle fleet, provide for the closure of two inner-city landfills and environmentally upgrade a main landfill outside the city.
The loan will bring further benefits to Tashkent. It will help the city's solid waste management enterprise, Spetstrans, to improve its operating practices and financial performance. It will also include a public awareness programme and reform the way tariffs for municipal services are set. In addition, the project will create opportunities for private sector operators to provide solid waste collection services. Financing for the necessary institution building will be provided from the EU’s Tacis programme and the EBRD’s technical cooperation funds programme.
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