Dutch development bank FMO has signed a deal with the government of Argentina to develop an investment programme for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the country.

The initiative will allow Argentinean utility companies to draw funding from the Dutch market, international capital markets and multilateral banks and climate adaptation funds.

FMO will also provide expertise to speed up infrastructure delivery through its project development unit, NL Business.

Linda Broekhuizen, CIO of FMO, says: “FMO is very proud to sign this letter of intent that will facilitate an accelerated development of infrastructure in Argentina, stimulating the Argentinian economy and job creation in the country.”

Argentina’s economy began growing again in the second half of 2016 following an aggressive reform programme by liberal President Mauricio Macri. Though GDP contracted by 2.3% overall for the year, it increased by 0.1% and 0.5% in Q3 and Q4 respectively, marking the end of the recession and prompting experts to hail the success of Macri’s efforts.

The economy is expected to expand by 2% in 2017.