AQUALIA GREEN FINANCE FRAMEWORK (GBPP) (EIB-20240335)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • European Investment Bank (EIB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Jun 5, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
FCC AQUALIA SA
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Infrastructure
  • Water and Sanitation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 137.44 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 120
Converted using 2025-06-05 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 286.34 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 250
Converted using 2025-06-05 exchange rate.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EIB website

Updated in EWS Aug 27, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Jun 10, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the project consists of the purchase by the EIB of Green Bond instruments issued by AQUALIA under its Green Financing Framework, the proceeds of which will finance new investments in the water sector, compliant with the substantial contribution of the EU Taxonomy.

The proceeds of the bond are expected to be used by the Promoter to finance a combination of new and refinanced assets. The Issuer will have a contractual obligation that, by the end of the allocation period, it has invested in an agreed amount of new, EIB eligible investments. The operation will finance investments in the water sector.

The green bonds will finance water related infrastructure and equipment required for a sustainable operation of water assets. Through the targeted issuance, the company will improve existing water and wastewater infrastructure as well as the environmental performance of the assets.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

According to the Environmental and Social Data Sheet:

* Whenever applicable, the Promoter undertakes to fulfil the requirements of the environmental impact studies (EIA studies or/and others) and Environmental Permits.

* For all projects financed with the bonds requiring an EIA, the Promoter will include a link on its web page to the competent authorities’ websites where EIA studies are electronically accessible to the public.

* For all projects financed with the bonds that may have an impact on a nature conservation site, the Promoter shall obtain confirmation from the competent nature conservation authority, or an equivalent confirmation, that the scheme does not have a significant negative impact on any such site. The Promoter shall not use the proceeds of the bond to finance projects with significant negative impacts on a nature conservation site.

* It is not expected that expropriations will be required due to the nature of the projects and to the location inside the EU. Nevertheless, compensations shall comply with applicable national legislation.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

FCC Aqualia is a Spain-based international water management company. Established in 1980, Aqualia has become the fourth-largest water company in Europe and ninth largest in the world. It acquired its stake in GGU in 2022 from Georgia Capital (GCAP), which retains the remaining 20% share of the Company. GCAP is a leading investment management company in Georgia, owned by institutional investors and listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - FCC Aqualia Client -

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

No contacts available at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.eib.org/en/infocentre/registers/request-form/request-form-default.htm

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EIB

The EIB Complaints Mechanism is designed to facilitate and handle complaints against the EIB by individuals, organizations or corporations affected by EIB activities. When exercising the right to lodge a complaint against the EIB, any member of the public has access to a two-tier procedure, one internal - the Complaints Mechanism Office - and one external - the European Ombudsman. A complaint can be lodged via a written communication addressed to the Secretary General of the EIB, via email to the dedicated email address: complaints@eib.org, by completing the online complaint form available at the following address: http://www.eib.org/complaints/form via fax or delivered directly to the EIB Complaints Mechanism Division, any EIB local representation office or any EIB staff. For further details, check: http://www.eib.org/attachments/strategies/complaints_mechanism_policy_en.pdf

When dissatisfied with a complaint to the EIB Complaints Mechanism, citizens can then turn towards the European Ombudsman. A memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the EIB and the European Ombudsman establishes that citizens (even outside of the EU if the Ombudsman finds their complaint justified) can turn towards the Ombudsman on issues related to 'maladministration' by the EIB. Note that before going to the Ombudsman, an attempt must be made to resolve the case by contacting the EIB. In addition, the complaint must be made within two years of the date when the facts on which your complaint is based became known to you. You can write to the Ombudsman in any of the languages of the European Union. Additional details, including filing requirements and complaint forms, are available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/atyourservice/interactiveguide.faces

How it works

How it works