A sovereign loan of up to EUR 10 million to the Republic of Azerbaijan (the "Borrower") for the benefit of the Housing and Communal Services Production Union (the "Company"), a municipal services company under the Ganja City Executive Power (the "City" or the "Ganja EP"). The Bank will support the upgrade of the municipal solid waste collection infrastructure (waste collection and street cleaning vehicles and containers) in the city of Ganja, as well as improvements in operational and financial efficiencies. Azerbaijan has a National Solid Waste Management Strategy (the "NSWMS"), among others including construction of new landfills, closure of old dumpsites, construction of transfer stations and support to recycling and recovery systems. The Project will address some urgent needs identified in the NSWMS applicable to Ganja city area. The Government of Azerbaijan is committed to implementing the improvements in solid waste management as identified in the NSWMS. The proposed investment will improve the solid waste collection infrastructure and introduce operational and financial efficiencies through the introduction of smart waste collection and route optimisation systems, new vehicle and container types and better maintenance solutions. Furthermore, the existing vehicle fleet will be enhanced for the purpose of the smart waste collection system. The Project will also aim to improve working conditions of staff in the maintenance bay and at the dumpsite, minimise uncontrolled burning in the dumpsite and other locations, improve public health and general environment due to the full coverage of the city area by the waste collection services. For more details, please refer to the project summary document at https://www.ebrd.com/view/psd/52399