European fundings will be directed to upgrading of Ganja’s water infrastructure to improve its residents’ living standards by ensuring better access to clean water while building resilience towards the impact of climate change.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) committed €35 million to finance the upgrading of Ganja’s water management systems. Sovereign loan to be combined with a grant of up to €5 million from the European Union EU.

More than 300,000 people living in Azerbaijan’s second-largest city stand to benefit from further improvements to their urban environment thanks to a third Green Cities project agreed by the delegations of the EBRD and Azerbaijan at the 2025 World Economic Forum.

According to EBRD press-release, this loan is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding that the parties signed at the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku (COP29) and the start of a comprehensive programme which aims to ensure that all of Ganja is covered by efficient and sustainable water and wastewater services.

The project includes the construction of a water supply pipeline, wastewater collection pipes and water reservoirs, as well as stormwater management systems and other supporting infrastructure.

Ganja joined the EBRD’s flagship Green Cities programme in 2020, and this is now the EBRD’s third investment project there. The EBRD’s first investment in Ganja was in 2022, when the Bank committed to financing upgrades to the city’s waste management, and that was then followed by the financing of improvements to the city’s street-lighting infrastructure.

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