The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending CZK 8 billion (around €300 million) to finance a vast set of measures put in place by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen the country’s water management services, including flood protection and storm management.
The implementation of the project will result in significant benefits for the people of the Czech Republic. It will provide protection against floods to an additional 47,000 people and improve the water supply of a total population of 24,000. Furthermore, it will increase wastewater collection and treatment for a total of 39,000 people and create an additional 2 million m3 of storm water storage capacity.
EIB Vice-President Lilyana Pavlova commented: “The EU climate bank is taking action to preserve natural resources and protect the environment for future generations. Thanks to these measures, the EU bank will help to improve living conditions for some 110,000 people in the Czech Republic, where approximately 25% of the population live in flood-prone zones facing disastrous floods on average every 10-15 years. This is a programme with a strong climate action focus, which will allow for the provision of better water services and help the country to meet its commitments stemming from national and EU environmental legislation.”
Czech Minister of Agriculture Miroslav Toman stated: “The Ministry of Agriculture greatly appreciates the long-term cooperation with the EIB and we are very pleased to continue with it. We are facing a turbulent period of climate change, which we perceive – from the point of view of the Czech Republic – above all as a considerable decrease in water resources. As part of the measures under construction, our priority is to ensure a stable supply of drinking water for the citizens of the Czech Republic and to build new and repair existing ponds in municipalities. However, we must not forget the opposite extreme and protect the population from floods. EIB funding will help us implement many important measures to combat climate change in the coming years.”
The current operation is a continuation of very fruitful cooperation between the EIB and the Czech Ministry of Agriculture. It is the sixth loan provided by the EU bank to this ministry since 1999, for a total amount of €1.3 billion.
