EIB Grants €150 Million Loan to Acqua Novara.VCO for Water Infrastructure Upgrades in Piedmont

EIB Grants €150 Million Loan to Acqua Novara.VCO for Water Infrastructure Upgrades in Piedmont

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted €150 million to Acqua Novara.VCO to help fund a €300 million investment plan for the modernization of water and wastewater services in the Italian provinces of Novara and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. The project, which will benefit over 450,000 people, includes upgrades to wastewater treatment plants, water networks, and systems to reduce water loss. The loan is backed by SACE’s Archimede guarantee and the EU’s InvestEU programme and will enhance the resilience of the region’s water infrastructure, ensuring it can better withstand extreme weather events.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 4-Jun-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €150 million green loan to Acqua Novara.VCO, which will support the company’s €300 million investment plan aimed at enhancing water and wastewater services in the Italian provinces of Novara and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola over the next five years. The financing is backed by two key guarantees: two-thirds of the loan is secured by SACE’s Archimede guarantee, while the remaining third is supported by the European Union’s InvestEU programme.

This financing will enable Acqua Novara.VCO to implement essential upgrades to the water network, wastewater treatment plants, and water loss reduction systems. The project is set to benefit over 450,000 people in 138 municipalities in Piedmont, improving the quality and resilience of water infrastructure. In addition to modernizing existing infrastructure, the upgrades will help the region’s water system better withstand extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, while enhancing water quality and reducing pollutant exposure.

“This agreement illustrates the EIB’s pivotal role in fostering partnerships between national financial instruments,” said Gelsomina Vigliotti, EIB Vice-President. “By supporting a more efficient and resilient water service, we are contributing to the climate transition, improving public health, and helping lower costs for users.”

Alessandra Ricci, CEO of SACE, added, “Through our Archimede guarantee, we are pleased to support Acqua Novara.VCO in its efforts to modernize and enhance the resilience of its water infrastructure. This cooperation with the EIB marks an important step in improving service quality for the Piedmont region.”

Emanuele Terzoli, President of Acqua Novara.VCO, expressed his satisfaction with the deal, stating, “We are grateful to both the EIB and SACE for their support of our investment plan, which will enable us to address the challenges posed by climate change and ensure the resilience of our water services for years to come.”

The investment marks a significant step in Acqua Novara.VCO’s €500 million plan for 2024-2036 to modernize and expand its water infrastructure. It is part of the EIB’s broader commitment to supporting the water sector in Italy, which has seen more funding than any other country, with over €4.3 billion invested in the past decade.

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 for more than €4.3 billion. This is Acqua Novara.VCO’s first EIB loan, and comes in addition to previously announced financing for Azienda Comprensoriale Acquedottistica S.p.A (€20 million), 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

EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core 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, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union. The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security. 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 Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately 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. High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

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.

SACE is an insurance and finance company owned by the Italian Ministry for the Economy and Finance. It specialises in helping Italian companies to grow through a wide range of tools and solutions backing exports and innovation, including financial guarantees, factoring, risk management and protection, advisory services and business matching. With a network of 11 offices in Italy and 13 more in Made in Italy target countries around the world, SACE currently supports 60 000 companies, enabling them to reach their national and international potential with a portfolio of insurance operations and guaranteed investments worth approximately €270 billion in 200 global markets.

Acqua Novara.VCO S.p.A. is the in-house integrated water services provider for the Piedmont region’s service area no. 1. It serves 138 municipalities in the provinces of Novara and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola with a workforce of 300 employees. It is the second-largest water management company in Piedmont. It has a strong focus on environmental, social and governance issues and takes protecting water resources in its catchment area very seriously.

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SOURCE: European Investment Bank