ONTARIO – The Ontario government is providing up to $1 billion in loans to give municipalities more financing options for water infrastructure projects that enable the construction of more houses. The new housing-friendly water infrastructure (HEWI) loan window, under Infrastructure Ontario (IO) Loan Programwill support the construction, expansion and rehabilitation of drinking water, wastewater treatment and stormwater treatment infrastructure projects that enable the construction of new homes. Infrastructure Ontario will begin accepting applications from municipalities on December 2, 2024.

“Our municipal partners continue to tell us that one of the biggest barriers to building more housing is the need for new or expanded water, wastewater and water management facilities. rainwater,” said Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure. “I know there are communities across the province that want to build new homes, but first need to increase their water capacity. This new flexible financing option will help more municipalities get much-needed water infrastructure projects underway and build more housing.

The new IO HEWI loan stream complements existing provincial programs, such as the Housing Water Systems Fund. The flow of loans provide municipalities, including small rural and northern municipalities, with more flexible lending options during the construction and repayment phases of the project. The province says municipalities will be able to take advantage of flexible borrowing terms that will allow them to defer interest payments during the construction phase until projects are substantially complete, choose longer repayment terms on debentures of up to 40 years, to choose more flexible repayment terms and to incur reduced administrative costs. costs.

“The affordable, long-term financing provided to municipalities through the IO loan program has supported the modernization and renewal of public infrastructure in 335 municipalities across the province,” said Michael Lindsay, President and CEO of Infrastructure Ontario. “We look forward to working with our municipal partners to realize the potential of this loan stream, ultimately enabling the construction of more homes for the benefit of the people of Ontario.”