AS Tallinna Vesi has concluded a 313 million kroons (equal to 20m EUR), 10-year maturity loan agreement with the Nordic Investment Bank on 9 April. Negotiations for this loan started in June 2008. AS Tallinna Vesi's Chairman of the Management Board Ian Plenderleith said: “Given the current market conditions these have been challenging discussions but we are pleased to successfully agree this new loan facility.” Securing this loan will enable AS Tallinna Vesi to complete the network extensions programme for 2008-2010. „The investments will significantly improve Tallinners' access to clean drinking water and modern wastewater disposal services by connecting approximately 3,500 households to the Tallinn water and sewerage system,” added Plenderleith. The necessity for this additional loan resources was triggered by the extensive 3-year network expansion program, the costs of which will be compensated to the company over a period of ten years. „When defining our loan requirements we carefully planned this large investment program and long term cash influence into our business plan to establish this solution,“ said Ian Plenderleith. The network extension program was agreed upon with the City Government of Tallinn in 2001, stating that AS Tallinna Vesi would construct the network extension as per funding granted annually by the Tallinn City Government. To make the process and procurements more effective the parties agreed to a 3 year construction program at the end of 2007. AS Tallinna Vesi shall complete the network extension program by March 2011, assuming all risks and liabilities related to construction and funding. The Company will receive the compensations for the network extension program over a course of ten years between 2008 and 2017. Building new sewage pipes will decrease the risk of pollutants flowing into surrounding water sources and will also facilitate proper treatment of the wastewater, as the sewage that previously flowed to small septic tanks will now be transported straight to a treatment plant. “Continuous investments to water pipes constructions and reconstructions will help to further improve water quality and reduce leakages,” added Plenderleith who stressed that water quality indicators in Tallinn already exceed the requirements established by the European Union. Drinking water quality in Tallinn currently meets 98% of requirements, compared to a standard of 95% and the leakages level has been reduced to 18% against a target of 26%. Priit Koff Head of Communication AS Tallinna Vesi 6262 209 priit.koff@tvesi.ee