Belgium: SPGE/EIB sign of a third loan of EUR 400M for wastewater treatment and water protection in Wallonia

The European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s financing institution, and Société Publique de Gestion de l’Eau (SPGE) met for the third time to sign a loan contract, as the EIB is providing a long-term loan of EUR 400m to SPGE for wastewater treatment, the protection of water catchment areas and priority sewerage and drainage works. Recognising the need to preserve one of its natural resources, in 1999 the Walloon Region set up Société Publique de Gestion de l’Eau, whose main tasks are to provide public sewerage services and to protect catchment areas.

With regard to the 1991 European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, Belgium in general and the Walloon Region in particular were lagging well behind other areas.  SPGE therefore mounted an ambitious investment programme of around EUR 2.5bn for the period up to 2010.