According to the Financing Agreement of 16.12.2024, the Managing Authority of the Environment Programme 2021–2027 entrusted the management of the Financial Instrument (FI) “Water” to the Fund of Funds (FoF), taking into account the need to address the identified financing gap for key water and sewerage (WSS) infrastructure projects. The structured inter-institutional cooperation between Fund FLAG and the FoF is a response to the need for complementary financing for the implementation of infrastructure interventions defined as key for Bulgaria in the “Water” sector of the Environment Programme 2021–2027.
FLAG is a proven partner in financing projects in the water sector, having provided both bridge financing and own-contribution loans for the implementation of projects under OP Environment 2007–2013 and OP Environment 2014–2020.
The purpose of the Financial Instrument (FI) “Water,” structured in the form of risk-sharing financing supported by resources from the Environment Programme 2021–2027, is to attract additional resources to the programme funds, thereby increasing the overall financing capacity and providing favorable conditions to target Final Recipients for the implementation of eligible investments in the WSS sector.
Funds amounting to BGN 37.37 million (EUR 19.10 million) from the Environment Programme 2021–2027, co-financed by the European Union through the Cohesion Fund (CF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will be complemented with at least 20% co-financing from FLAG for each financing operation. The total available resource is expected to reach nearly BGN 50 million (EUR 25.6 million). Support through the financial instrument will be primarily directed towards financing the mandatory own contribution for approved projects receiving grant support under the Environment Programme 2021–2027.
