$3 M will be invested in heat insulation of some 500 municipal buildings in Sofia, including schools and kindergartens, under an energy efficiency project, which will considerably cut heating expenses, BTA announced. The project will be financed by the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank. The five-year loan is repayable over 30 months at the six-month LIBOR plus 3.5-5%. The loan is guaranteed by the Sofia Municipality through a mortgage on zero-risk highly liquid assets (ground-floor premises and shops), which form part of the capital of Sofiiski Imoti AD. The agreement with the Bank is to be approved at a meeting of the Sofia Municipal Council in late July. The project includes installation of energy-saving equipment, maintenance and calibration of the installations. All improvements in the municipal buildings, including the new installations and the heat gauges, will be owned by the municipality. Studies by the Sofia Energy Consortium show that this could be a pilot project for rehabilitation of Sofia`s larger buildings.