16 November 2012: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Aquafin N.V. have signed the first installment of a 30-year loan for financing projects on sanitation of various discharge locations, the construction of wastewater treatment works and the laying of strategic rainwater piping to improve the existing infrastructure in Belgium.

According to EIB, the is the eighth loan to Aquafin for financing investment in the Flemish Region’s wastewater treatment facilities since 1994. The EUR 50 million installment is part of EUR 200 million loan. The Flemish Region was the first Belgian region to comply with the EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. Currently, 80% of household wastewater in the Flemish Region is treated, compared to 30% in the early 1990s, and there is three to five times less pollution in the region’s rivers. According to Luc Bossyns, Aquafin, aquatic animals that were previously never or rarely seen are now returning in the region’s waterways. [European Commission Press Releases]