The European Investment Bank (EIB), headquartered in Luxembourg, is granting the two regional water management associations Emschergenossenschaft and Lippeverband (EGLV) a total of €500 million in promotional loans for climate adaptation and flood protection projects in the Emscher-Lippe region of Germany. The loan agreements were signed on Friday, 16 January by EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer and Chair of the Executive Board of EGLV Prof. Dr Uli Paetzel at the Hof Emscher-Auen former farmstead in Castrop‑Rauxel, near Dortmund. With a term of 30 years, the loans will help ensure that – despite the significant investments required for climate adaptation and flood protection – local charges remain affordable thanks to favourable interest rates.
EGLV is undertaking numerous projects to adapt to the effects of climate change and to improve flood protection. These include river restoration measures, dyke rehabilitation and pumping station upgrades.
“For many years, our long-term financing has been invested in the water systems of the Emscher-Lippe region – first in modern wastewater treatment systems and environmental protection, and now in climate adaptation and flood protection. This will provide several hundred thousand people with better protection against heavy rainfall and flooding, help municipalities avoid high costs from future flood damage, and ensure that – thanks to the flexible, low‑interest loans from the European Investment Bank – investment costs remain manageable for locals,” said EIB Vice-President Nicola Beer.
The measures range from further river restoration activities to the rehabilitation and expansion of dykes, and upgrades to pumping stations and retention basins in order to prevent flooding in densely populated urban districts
“The loans from the European Investment Bank will enable EGLV to implement these high‑investment projects quickly for the benefit of the community, while spreading the financial contributions from our members over several decades. This will help shield residents, as the promotional loans will enable wastewater charges to be adjusted gradually over an extended period,” said Prof. Dr Uli Paetzel, chair of the Executive Board of the Emschergenossenschaft and the Lippeverband.
With these new investments, the EIB, the Emschergenossenschaft and the Lippeverband are continuing a decades‑long collaboration to ensure clean water and a healthy environment. After the successful ecological restoration of the Emscher River and the development of a modern wastewater treatment system, the focus now turns to protection against flooding and heavy rainfall.
The measures range from further river restoration activities to the rehabilitation and expansion of dykes, and upgrades to pumping stations and retention basins in order to prevent flooding in densely populated urban districts. As a result, hundreds of thousands of residents in the Emscher-Lippe region will be better protected against the consequences of the climate crisis. Preventive flood protection measures will also help avoid substantial damage to private property and public infrastructure.
The EIB’s flexible, long‑term loan structures will enable the Emschergenossenschaft and the Lippeverband to spread their investments over many years without placing undue financial pressure on contributors. Thanks to the favourable interest rates, the multibillion‑euro investments required for climate adaptation and flood protection will remain affordable for municipalities and residents alike, spreading costs evenly across generations and ensuring that prevention is more cost‑effective than future repair.
Since 2011, the European Investment Bank has helped to finance the Emscher restoration project, planned and implemented by the Emschergenossenschaft. With a total of €2.1 billion in promotional loans, this intergenerational project has contributed significantly to the ecological recovery of the Emscher – once known as “Germany’s dirtiest river.”
This long‑standing commitment to the Emscher’s restoration and improved quality of life in the Ruhr region will now continue through new investments in flood protection and climate adaptation.
Over the past decade, the European Investment Bank has provided more than €3.3 billion for long‑term water sector investments in Germany, including in Augsburg, Berlin, Halle, Hamburg and Cologne, as well as for projects in the German federal states of Saxony and Lower Saxony.
The Emschergenossenschaft and the Lippeverband (EGLV) are public water management associations that operate as a cooperative. Together, they form Germany’s largest wastewater disposal entity and operator of wastewater treatment plants and pumping stations.
