Italy: EIB provides €30 million to improve water service efficiency and resilience in Pescara

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• The first €20 million tranche of a green loan for Azienda Comprensoriale Acquedottistica S.p.A (ACA) has been signed.
• The InvestEU-backed financing will help provide wider and more reliable access to water and optimise wastewater management.
• The EIB is one of the world’s leading lenders to the water sector.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced a €30 million loan to Azienda Comprensoriale Acquedottistica S.p.A (ACA), the utility company providing integrated water services to around 450 000 people in the Italian provinces of Pescara, Chieti and Teramo. The first €20 million tranche was signed by the Head of the EIB Local Office in Italy, Milena Messori, and by the CEO of ACA, Giovanna Brandelli. This InvestEU-backed financing will support ACA’s water and wastewater investment programme for 2024-2026.

This is the first EIB green loan to be granted to a business in Abruzzo. EIB green loans go to projects focusing on sustainability, climate action and environmental protection. Key initiatives set to receive financing include expanding the water network to provide wider and more reliable access to water, and introducing advanced technologies for better water quality and wastewater management. In parallel, solutions will be implemented to optimise operational processes, cutting costs and increasing the overall efficiency of the water system.

The focus on improving the sector’s resilience to future extreme climate events will strengthen the region’s ability to face droughts and water crises like the one that hit Abruzzo in 2024. This project will have a positive impact not only on the management of water resources, but also on people’s quality of life.

The agreement is part of the existing partnership between the EIB and the city of Pescara, which in March 2022 saw the signature of €35 million in financing for the renewal of waste sorting facilities, the purchase of low environmental impact vehicles and the improvement of energy efficiency in schools and public buildings.

“This agreement reaffirms our commitment to Italian utility companies and to the improvement of water infrastructure in Italy. With InvestEU backing, we are helping ACA Pescara to cut water losses, improve efficiency and provide high-quality water services, even when confronted with climate change-related challenges, said the Head of the EIB Local Office in Italy, Milena Messori.”

“This is the first EIB green loan to be granted to a business in Abruzzo, said the CEO of ACA, Giovanna Brandelli. This €30 million loan to ACA will hugely improve the region’s water network and provide a better service in the coming years. This is the first time that ACA has received such financing like this from a prestigious bank like the EIB. This shows that the path taken by the company is starting to bear fruit and is having a positive impact on the service provided. The focus on improving the sector’s resilience to future extreme climate events will strengthen the region’s ability to face droughts and water crises like the one that hit Abruzzo in 2024”.

Italy receives more EIB resources for the water sector than any other country

With over 1 640 projects and around €84 billion in financing provided since 1958, the EIB is one of the world’s leading lenders to the water sector. In the last ten years, Italy has received more EIB resources for the water sector than anywhere else, seeing operations financed totalling more than €4 billion. This is ACA Pescara’s first EIB loan, and comes in addition to recently announced financing for Iren (€200 million), Valle Umbra Servizi (€35 million), ETRA (€100 million), Acquedotto Pugliese (€270 million), Como Acqua (€50 million), Hera Group (€460 million), ACEA (€435 million), Acque (€130 million) and CIIP (€50 million).

Background information

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Founded on eight key priorities, it finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives, bolstering climate action, environmental protection, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and supports a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world. All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Around 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed a total of around €89 billion in new financing for over 900 projects in 2024, which boosted Europe’s competitiveness and security. Promoting the integration of markets and mobilising investments, the funds unleashed by the EIB Group in 2024 attracted investment worth over €100 billion, fostering Europe’s energy security and unlocking €110 billion to support startups, scale-ups and pioneering firms in Europe. Around half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union goes to cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average. The EIB Group signed 99 operations totalling €10.98 billion in Italy in 2024, helping to unlock almost €37 billion of investment in the real economy.

The InvestEU programme provides the European Union with long-term funding by leveraging substantial private and public funds in support of a sustainable recovery. It also helps to crowd in private investment for the European Union’s strategic priorities such as the European Green Deal and the digital transition. InvestEU brings all EU financial instruments previously available for supporting investments within the European Union together under one roof, making funding for investment projects in Europe simpler, more efficient and more flexible. The programme consists of three components: the InvestEU Fund, the InvestEU Advisory Hub, and the InvestEU Portal. The InvestEU Fund is deployed through implementing partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of €26.2 billion. The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity and thus mobilise at least €372 billion in additional investment.