Kim does not want to rush into a €100 million loan from the EIB for sewage treatment plants

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Agency, does not want to rush to take out a large loan for the construction of water treatment facilities for Mykolaiv, despite the European Investment Bank's readiness to allocate more than €100 million.

During a briefing on Thursday, 23 January, he said that it is necessary to weigh the pros and cons, as this amount will further affect the water tariff, NikVesti.

He noted that the issue of sewage treatment plants is the responsibility of the city authorities, but this was discussed during a meeting with the French ambassador and representatives of the European Investment Bank. Vitalii Kim added that the issue now is the cost of the project and technology.

To do this, it was decided to hold an open tender and select a manufacturer.

«We discussed the loan from the European Investment Bank, which is currently being approved by the Ministry of Finance. This is not an issue of water supply, but of water treatment facilities, the balance sheet holder of which is the Mykolaiv water utility. The issue is the technology and cost of the project. There are offers from French and Danish manufacturers. But this is a loan, not a grant. Therefore, after talking to everyone, we decided that we needed to involve experts to make the competition open. We need to talk not about a specific manufacturer, but about the technology that will allow us to produce high-quality water at the lowest prices,» said Vitalii Kim.

The Head of the RMA noted that the project cost should not exceed 100 million. In particular, he cited the example of Zhytomyr, where about €22 million was spent on the construction of a sewage treatment plant.

«Currently, the mayor has to agree on loan guarantees with the Ministry of Finance, but we do not have the amount. The EIB offers to borrow more than €100 million. We understand that the range is between €22 million and €100 million. Following the example of Zhytomyr, where water treatment plants cost 22 million euros in terms of our volume, I think it is better to take less, because it will be included in the future tariff. We have to decide on the numbers. This is the responsibility of the city authorities, but our task as a state is to bring water to the city. We can install a spacecraft that will filter the water, but then someone will have to pay for it,» he added.

As a reminder, in July 2024, city council members approved a €10 million loan for the construction of new wastewater treatment facilities in Mykolaiv. This is one of the three stages of restoring quality water supply to the city. The loan agreement for €10 million was signed in June 2024 in Berlin by Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych. Together with these funds, the partners will guarantee almost EUR 15 million in grant funds to Mykolaiv, including EUR 5 million from the Eastern European Partnership Energy Efficiency and Environment Facility and EUR 9.8 million from the EBRD's Special Crisis Response Facility.