Improved Collection & Recycling Infrastructure for Location of Ancient Troy : EBRD Waste Collection & Management Loan for SUEZ & ALTAŞ JV in Turkey

A local venture between the French environmental services firm, SUEZ Group, and the Turkish waste management firm ALTAŞ, has secured a European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loan of TRY 57.5 million, or €9 million equivalent, for the development of a modern waste and recycling collection and handling infrastructure in the historical province of Çanakkale.

Çanakkale province, which stands on the Dardanelles Strait connecting the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean, is the location of ancient Troy and home to a population of around 200,000 today.

The two partners won the international tender to provide waste collection, transportation, recycling and disposal services under 29-year concession in five towns: Çanakkale, Lapseki, Kepez, Çardak and Umurbey. The consortium itself is contributing TRY 38.3 million (€6 million) of its own funds to the project.

The EBRD loan will finance the construction of a mechanical biological treatment plant which combines a sorting facility with biological treatment such as composting and producing energy from waste. The funds will also be used to refurbish a landfill and upgrade a plant that treats leachate, a water-polluting liquid.

The project will help reduce the amount of solid waste sent to landfill, extend the landfill lifetime by 20 years and increase waste recycling, in line with EU standards. The new approach is based on circular economy and will minimise the negative effects of waste on the environment and people.

Nandita Parshad, EBRD Managing Director for Sustainable Infrastructure, said during a visit to Turkey: “At the EBRD we are strong supporters of public-private partnerships as an effective tool to deliver better services. Together with our partners from SUEZ we aim to demonstrate how effective waste management by private companies can benefit people and the environment.”

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