NIB loan to help close off discharges into the Neva

A new loan totalling EUR 25 million provided by the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) will co-finance the implementation of the Neva Closure of Discharges of Untreated Wastewater Programme in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The loan agreement with the Russian water utility Vodokanal St. Petersburg was signed on 20 May. NIB is the lead bank for this project under the umbrella of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP), which coordinates the financing of urgent environmental investments in Northwest Russia. Other financing is provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank as well as the City of St. Petersburg and the Russian Federation.

The project includes the building of a pumping station in St. Petersburg’s sewage collection tunnel and the partial upgrading of the Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant (NWTP). The project will allow the closure of most of the remaining municipal and industrial direct discharge points. It is expected that by 2012 the city will be able to treat up to 94% of its wastewater (up from the current 85%). The environmental load reduction resulting from this improvement is estimated to be the equivalent of the discharge produced by a population of over one million people.

“The ecological significance of this investment programme is immense. Accomplishing this large effort of improving wastewater collection and treatment in St. Petersburg is indeed a major step forward in healing the Baltic Sea. This is vitally important for all the countries on its coasts. The project partners agree that it is an opportune time to realise the project in the current circumstances,” says Johnny Åkerholm, President and CEO of NIB.

The underground pumping station will help prevent sediments in the sewage collection tunnel from forming a non-washable layer on the bottom of the tunnel line. After the reconstruction of the NWTP, the plant’s capacity for nutrient removal will amount to approximately 1,000,000 cubic metres of wastewater a day. This will facilitate fulfilling the HELCOM recommendation of 0.5 mg/l in effluent phosphorus concentrations.

NIB began cooperating with Vodokanal in 1997 and now has four loan agreements with the company, including the new one. NIB’s total exposure to Vodokanal, as of 30 April 2009, amounted to EUR 72 million.

NIB is a multilateral financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact:
Mr Sami Loukkola, Senior Manager Lending, at +358 50 311 3698,

Mr Dimitrijs Alehins, Communications Specialist, at +358 40 533 8779,