prijava
WASHINGTON, October 31 (FENA) - The World Bank today approved US$ 32 million of new financing for energy efficiency investments in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
This funding adds to a previous package of US$ 32 million approved by the World Bank in March 2014.
The financing provided by the World Bank for energy efficiency is dedicated to improving schools and hospitals throughout BiH, including cleaner and more efficient heating, better insulation, better lighting and overall improvement of the buildings.
Through the original project, more than 60 schools and hospitals in BiH have already been substantially improved. This has translated into better learning conditions for school children and a better recovery environment for patients. More than 500,000 children and patients have benefitted directly from these improved facilities.
At the same time, energy efficiency improvements in these buildings have reduced energy use by up to 60%, resulting in total lifetime energy savings of more than 512,000 MWh. This is equivalent to a reduction of 189,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is equivalent to the CO2 pollution emitted by about 2,000 cars.
BiH uses a lot more energy than other countries in Europe. Half of this energy is consumed in buildings as they require more energy per square meter compared to countries in similar climatic zones. This is due to simple deficiencies such as bad insulation, obsolete heating systems and inadequate lighting.
“Many public buildings throughout BiH are severely under-heated during winter due to high heat losses. Cold schools and hospitals are bad learning environments for school children and bad recovery conditions for hospital patients. Through these investments we are improving the conditions in schools and hospitals in BiH.” said Emanuel Salinas, World Bank Country Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina. “The wellbeing of schoolchildren and patients is our top priority, but these investments also have additional benefits, including significantly reducing electricity bills and reducing air pollution during winter. We have achieved very good results so far, but a lot more needs to be done.”
In BiH, there are some 7,600 public buildings (4,419 public buildings in the FBiH and 2,908 in the RS), requiring an estimated €350-510 million in energy efficiency investments. This highlights the scale of the challenge ahead. Responding to that, this project aims not only at improving specific schools and hospitals, but also at creating mechanisms that can mobilize additional funding (public and private) that can be used to finance improvement of a wider range of buildings.
The World Bank portfolio of active projects in BiH includes 11 operations, totaling $509 million. Areas of support include transportation, employment, energy efficiency, local infrastructure, environment, forestry, water management, and banking, announced the World Bank.
(FENA) S. R.
