- The investment aims to improve the coverage, quality and resilience of integrated water services in the province of Varese, helping to alleviate the ongoing water crisis.
- This financing for ALFA — its first from the EIB — comes in addition to agreements recently signed with several Italian operators in the sector.
- The project is line with the Paris Agreements and the EIB’s climate goals.
- The EIB is the EU climate bank and one of the world's largest lenders to the water sector, with over 1 600 projects and around €79 billion in funding.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted €75 million in financing to ALFA Srl — the public company that manages integrated water services in the province of Varese — to enhance the quality of integrated water services, reduce water losses and improve energy efficiency for the benefit of local residents.
The planned interventions will help to counter the water crisis affecting Italy and are in line with the Paris Agreements and the goals of the EIB Climate Bank Roadmap.
EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti said: “Given the drought state of emergency brought on by a long period without rain and the water crisis affecting Italy, it is more important than ever to invest in infrastructure to reduce water losses and improve energy efficiency. On average, 40% of the water fed into Italy's distribution network does not reach taps in people's homes. Projects like that signed with ALFA help to reduce losses significantly, with a view to improving the coverage, quality and resilience of water services. This is the only way to guarantee the safety, supply and sustainable management of water in Italy and across Europe.”
ALFA Srl President Paolo Mazzucchelli added: “This is a key step for ALFA, now that it has finished its pooling of all the province's water companies, merging them into the company I represent today. After two years of strong qualitative and quantitative growth, partially thanks to our industrial partnership with CAP Holding S.p.A., ALFA can finally engage with the financial world. With the valuable support of the EIB — an institution that is very attentive to the needs of the water sector and, more generally, to environmental issues — we can implement a €151 million investment programme with €75 million in co-financing from the EIB. These funds will be used for vital interventions and works on the ground, with positive effects not only for the quality of life of residents, but also for sustainability-focused economic and social development.”
The EU bank support will enable ALFA to enhance the coverage and quality of integrated water services, with the aim of reducing water losses and improving its energy efficiency for the benefit of local residents and the area served. The project also includes investment in urban drainage systems intended to improve the resilience of existing infrastructure to extreme weather events.
EIB estimates indicate that a number of jobs will be created during the project's implementation phase, with ALFA alone recruiting 45 full-time employees to support the increase in its service area.
This financing for ALFA — its first from the EIB — comes in addition to agreements recently signed with several Italian operators in the sector.
Background information
European Investment Bank (EIB)
The European Investment Bank (EIB) finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2021, the EIB Group provided more than €36 billion in financing for projects in Italy.
ALFA Srl
ALFA Srl manages integrated water services in the Italian province of Varese. Its capital is fully publicly-owned, with its members being 135 municipalities in the province of Varese and a further eight municipalities in neighbouring provinces. The company currently manages:
- the water mains of 103 municipalities, covering a population of 655 258, with a 4 296 km network fed by 355 springs and 300 wells;
- 137 municipal sewers, covering a population of 878 094, with a 3 724 km network and 358 lifting stations;
- 80 wastewater treatment plants serving 1 141 108 population equivalents and 152 municipalities, treating around 100 million m3 of wastewater a year.
ALFA Srl currently employs 363 people (106 from the acquired companies) who — in addition to plant management activities — handle administration and billing and provide 24/7 emergency intervention services. The company's most recent balance sheet (31 December 2021) closed with a production value of approximately €116 million.