The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and the Finnish water services company Turun seudun puhdistamo Oy (TSP) have signed a EUR 15 million loan agreement to modernise a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Turku, Finland.

The 30-year loan is funded with the proceeds of NIB Environmental Bonds. It is part of the investment programme for the construction of a new wastewater removal channel at the Kakolanmäki WWTP. The programme is to be implemented during 2018–2021, and its value amounts to EUR 30 million.

- The investment fulfils NIB’s environmental mandate as it will help to secure the supply of wastewater treatment services in the region and contribute to a cleaner Baltic Sea, says Henrik Normann, NIB President and CEO.

The project will separate the wastewater and storm water discharge systems, enabling the WWTP to utilize its full wastewater treatment capacity during extreme weather conditions. It will reduce the overflows of untreated wastewater as well as the nutrient and microbiological load on the environment.

Having a sufficient effluent removal channel will also protect the systems from flooding in the future, as heavy rainfall and maximum sea levels are estimated to increase.

The Kakolanmäki WWTP processes wastewater from approximately 300,000 residents as well as industries in Turku region. Its operator, TSP, is a wastewater treatment service provider that is owned by 14 municipalities, with the city of Turku having the largest shareholding (62.3%).

NIB is an international 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.