Germany allocates 5.5m euros to improve environment in Kosovo

So said Finance Minister Bedri Hamza after signing two agreements with Germany's authorities for “Program of Nature Reservation Management”, worth 4m euros and Professional Proner Services in the Framework of Waste Management Framework, worth 1.46m euros.

Minister Hamza has added that during his term, 72.4m euros in grants have been reached as minister, and with today's deal amounts to 78m euros.

“Today, we also signed two agreements dealing with an extremely important area, which is the environment and we all agree that it needs a lot of investment in the environment, and is a top priority for the next period in Kosovo. The agreements we signed have an even greater value, because they are a financial contribution with no return, which I say money thanks to the dedication to improving the environment in Kosovo. Total bargaining is 5.46 million. The first 1.46 million deal has to do with supporting national waste depots, while the rest of the 4 million has to do with supporting this sector at the municipal level with equipment of various kinds, machinery, container and other similar equipment”, Hamza said, the KP reported.

Anja Becky, the first secretary at the German Embassy in Pristina, stressed that Kosovo institutions are showing great commitment to the sustainability of these two projects.

So today we have signed these two projects aimed at preventing further environmental degradation and improving the solid waste sector in Kosovo. A project has been dedicated to a study on the fields of Kosovo lands. Its goal is to process the green cabbage and land management company's seed efforts in Kosovo by analyzing current introductions and processing future solutions”, Becky stressed.

According to her, the second project being signed today will provide technical equipment for service companies in 16 municipalities and 5 solid waste companies. So for this project, municipalities and solid waste companies are competing to meet a number of performance indicators.

Municipal Infrastructure Department Director for Southeast Europe and Turkey at KfW Kirk Mildner said these agreements are very important for Kosovo because the environmental investment needs are great.

We have achieved much in the past and in the water waste sector we have invested more than 150m euros and in improving the water supply and waste of contaminated water for Kosovo citizens. Evidence of success is that you all have 24 hours of water in Pristina, which didn't happen a few years ago and that is the product of the hard work that you and your government colleagues have done, but the city of Pristina and the company or water did. Today we are entering a new phase of our co-operation, because we are entering into cooperation in the solid waste sector, where challenges are big, investment needs are huge, but also how we do things is not so clear and easy so it needs to be carefully studied”, Mildner said.

German representatives wished these tools would be destined for projects in question, for environmental regulation.