Italy: EIB lends €100 million to CAP Group to upgrade water and sewerage infrastructure in Milan and several provinces in Lombardy

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• EIB financing supports CAP Group Investment Plan 2025-2030 for the integrated water sector in Lombardy
• The operations will improve the reliability, resilience and quality of water and wastewater treatment services, benefiting more than 2.4 million people
• The project will contribute to environmental sustainability and infrastructure safety, promoting efficiency and digital innovation

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and CAP Group have signed a new €100 million finance contract to support the company’s investment plan for the period 2025-2030. The agreement was announced by EIB Director General of Operations Jean-Christophe Laloux and Chairman of CAP Group Yuri Santagostino.

The agreement aims to support the upgrading of water and sewerage infrastructure in Milan and several provinces in Lombardy, benefiting 154 municipalities and more than 2.4 million people.

In particular, the EIB funding will help support actions to increase the reliability and resilience of the water network, reduce the risk of flooding caused by sewage overloads, improve the quality and efficiency of wastewater collection and treatment services and develop digital solutions to optimise management of the integrated water service.

“Investing in water infrastructure means investing in people’s quality of life. The EIB funding will help to ensure a safer, more reliable and sustainable service for communities in the Milan metropolitan area and much of Lombardy”, said EIB Director General of Operations Jean-Christophe Laloux.

“This funding strengthens our ability to plan and implement large-scale strategic investments and will have a direct impact on the local economy and the quality of services. The trust that the EIB places in us confirms the solidity of our industrial model and enables us to upgrade water infrastructure at a faster pace, so generating value for the people and for the Lombardy region,” said Chairman of CAP Group Yuri Santagostino.

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

With over 1 770 projects and more than €86 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 funding for the water sector than anywhere else, seeing operations financed for more than €4.3 billion. The loan to CAP Holding comes in addition to financing announced in 2025 for BrianzAcque (€45 million); Acqua Novara.VCO (€150 million); Azienda Comprensoriale Acquedottistica S.p.A (€30 million); and ACEA (€90 million).

Background information

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight key priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed over 900 projects worth nearly €89 billion in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security. The EIB Group signed 99 operations totalling €10.98 billion in Italy in 2024, unlocking almost €37 billion of investment in the real economy. All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment. Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the funds made available by the Group unlocked over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised a further €110 billion for startups and scale-ups. Around half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

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.

CAP Group

CAP Group is the public company that manages the integrated water service of Milan and is a key player in the development and innovation of Lombardy’s water infrastructure. Thanks to a system of equity participations, business networks and joint ventures, CAP Group is also active in the waste treatment, bioenergy, green energy and circular economy sectors. It is a genuine green utility, which grows via markets that complement the water market and are vital for sustainable development of the planet, helping these markets to embark on a path towards sustainability and the circular economy. CAP Group’s size and assets make it one of Italy’s largest single utility companies. CAP Group includes CAP Evolution, which specialises in waste treatment and green energy production; ZeroC, active in the field of waste treatment and the circular economy; Neutalia, the benefit corporation that manages the waste-to-energy plant in Busto Arsizio; Pavia Acque, which manages the integrated water service in the province of Pavia; networks of Alfa, the company managing water services in the province of Varese; and the public water services providers of Water Alliance, the first network of in-house water companies in Lombardy.