The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved two loans to Serbia in the total amount of 218.9 million euros.
The first one is a development loan for the green transition, in the amount of 149.9 million euros, as well as financing in the amount of 69 million euros for the implementation of the Improvement of Public Financial Management for Service Provision and Green Transition project.
“The First Green Transition Programmatic Development policy loan was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, providing EUR 149.9 million in support of Serbia’s bolstered efforts to strengthen its public sector institutions on a path to achieving resilient, greener, and more inclusive economic growth that is sustainable across generations,” the World Bank’s press release said.
The press release quoted World Bank Country Manager for Serbia, Nicola Pontara, as saying that the Serbian government has taken a major step forward towards a green transition. „Creating and sustaining opportunities, while innovating toward cleaner and more resilient economic growth may be challenging but also rewarding,’’ he said.
“The loan supports policy and institutional reforms to better align fiscal management with the green agenda by increasing the transparency of budgetary spending on climate-related activities and on the environment. It aims to accelerate the clean energy transition through energy market reforms to make the national energy utility, EPS, sustainable and through a faster adoption of renewables while protecting energy-vulnerable consumers. It also helps Serbia to align its domestic legislation with European Union standards on climate and environment action, with emphasis on waste and air quality management,” it said.
The loan has been prepared in partnership with the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD) and the German Development Bank (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, KfW).
(Biznis i Finansije, 11.03.2023)
https://bif.rs/2023/03/svetska-banka-odobrila-zajam-srbiji-u-iznosu-od-2189-miliona-evra/