The municipality of Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, inaugurated a state-of-the-art mechanical-biological refuse treatment plant this week, putting other regional metropolises to shame for sticking to … Third World methods of managing urban waste.

The new complex has the capacity to process 410,000 tons of mixed waste per year, with the EIB providing co-financing  worth 33 million euros to the municipality.

While yet another … round of elections and memorandum-tinged economic malaise were on the agenda “south of the border”, the project in Bulgaria was won and implemented by the Greek consortium Aktor-Ilektor, after the initial 91-million-euro contract signed in December 2013. Roughly 70 percent the total funding came from Community resources.

Athens-based Alpha Bank also financed 20 million euros worth of letters of guarantee.

EIB Vice-President László Baranyay  attended the opening ceremony together with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, among others.

“This modern facility represents a major step towards improving the environment and the health of the citizens of Sofia and will generate significant efficiency gains for the city’s waste management services. It will also enable Bulgaria to meet its international environmental and climate change obligations,” Fandakova said during the ceremony.