Improve the water services and purification in Puglia and Campania. These are the main objectives of the green financing of 270 million euros granted by European Investment Bank (Bei) ad Apulian Aqueduct. In detail, EIB resources will support AQP's water and sewerage investment program for the period 2023-2027 which, in addition to financing from the European Union Bank, will receive additional funds from National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrrr).
Thanks to the resources of the EIB and the PNRR, explains a note from the group, AQP expects to build around 100 interventions small and medium-sized in order to further improve the preservation and efficient use of water resources, reduce network water losses and ensure compliance with national and European environmental regulations. The investments will help improve water supply, wastewater collection, modernization of existing purification plants and the construction of new sewerage networks. Furthermore, interventions are planned to improve the digitalisation of Acquedotto Pugliese through the installation of smart meters and the resilience of supply systems against future extreme weather events such as drought.
The comments of the EIB and AQP
“With this operation, the EIB, the EU Climate Bank, confirms itself as one of the major financiers of the Italian water sector, which it supported with over 2023 billion euros in 1,3 alone,” he commented Jasmine Vigliotti, EIB Vice President. Thanks to these resources, "Aqp will reduce losses and improve the quality of water and water service in the 260 municipalities served in Puglia and Campania", he concluded.
“The EIB's green financing – he explained Dominic Laforgia, president of AQP - will support the Strategic Plan of Acquedotto Pugliese. The overall investment expected until 2026 is 2 billion euros and in 2022 alone we have deployed over 312 million. The objectives are ambitious, upon completion of the Plan we hope to recover 44 million cubic meters of water losses and manage 130 thousand tons of sewage sludge in house. Furthermore, Aqp aims to self-produce 91 GWh of energy from renewable sources. The benefits will be tangible, both for the improvement of services and for the positive economic, social and environmental impact".
