Agreement signed worth 53m euros for sewage project, support from Germany as well

Regional Water Company “Pristina” held today the signing ceremony of the contribution agreements for the “Climate Apppropriate Urban Development: Sewage Pristina (incl. Sewage I/II)” for Pristina municipality and Fushe Kosovo.

This 53m-euro total project, supported by international partners, is expected to bring cleaner waters and rivers, a healthier environment and tangible benefits for 40 per cent of Kosovo's population.

Pristina Chairman Progress Rama said this project is more than infrastructure, naming it an investment in citizens' dignity and quality of life.

This project is more than concrete and pipelines. It is a testimony to our concern for the quality of life, a new line on the map of common dignity. In this room today we are signing a contract for the future of our city, for our children, for our families, for any citizen who deserves to live in a dignified environment, with water and fresh air. This project affects the daily life of thousands of citizens - from the rivers we want to turn into public wealth and health that today suffers from the effects of the missing infrastructure.

The project is a product of extraordinary co-operation: among the Regional Water Company KPPristina as the implementing agency, which will provide transparent and efficient management among the municipality that will facilitate any administrative step and between international partners like Kfw, bringing expertise and higher-level financing. And the investments we make today will increase the value of property, revive the labour market, and bring investors who see here a managed and stable city.

These are tangible and measurable benefits that will remain to future generations.
The Pristina municipality has taken responsibility decisively: 9m euros planned for the period 2025502027, which will be distributed in three annual payments to ensure full implementation of the project. This commitment includes the construction of a 1.2km section of the main pipe at Calabria, which will lead to concrete and tangible improvements in flow as well as the treatment of sewage management. These are investments in life, in health and in the common future”, he said, Online Economy, broadcast Periscope.

Kosovo Deputy Chairman Besnik Osmani described the project as crucial to the municipality.

A project which is crucial to us. Kosovo's Fushe municipality has undergone an increase, the city has doubled with populations and economies, and this project comes at a crucial time for both the present and the future. We've been working with project experts, we've been working on our vows. This will be a project that will not last more than 36 months. What is most important in this project is also the share of a friendly environment for citizens. It will also create a more friendly environment for citizens”, he said.

Germany's ambassador to Kosovo, Jörn Rohde, said the agreement on municipalities worth 11m euros is a major step towards clean waters and public health.

This joint agreement of 11m-euro municipalities will lead to cleaner rivers, healthier communities and a better quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people. Ladies and gentlemen, water is life and access to clean water is a human right. For a long time, the sewage of the Pristina region has turned untreated on Kosovo rivers. The main rivers, in particular, have suffered severe pollution, endangering both public and water resources. Our joint project will change that.

With the construction of a modern sewage treatment plant in Pristina, Kosovo, designed to serve the equivalent of 350,000 inhabitants, we will take a decisive step towards cleaner waters and a cleaner environment. In addition, Germany's 42m-euro grant, provided by the German Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development, BMZ, Kfw, will help build and rehabilitate the main collectors of Pristina, Fushe Kosova and Obilik, as well as modernisation of the network in Pristina's critical areas, including the separating of water from sewage. This is indeed a concerted effort. We, you, the German government, BMZ, Kfw, French Treasury, AFD, the Western Balkan Framework, the Kosovo government and now the municipalities of Pristina and Fushe Kosovo, are all working together. The results will be tangible. 40 per cent of Kosovo's population, through seven municipalities, will directly benefit”, he said.

The chief executive of the Pristina Regional Water Company, Arsim Fetah, announced that the project will include not only Pristina and Fushë Kosovo, but also the municipalities of Gracanica, Obilik and Podujevo.

Apart from the two municipalities we've mentioned, resolving the problem for polluted waters will happen in the other two municipalities -- the municipality of Gracanica and the municipality of Obilic. Also in the Podujevo municipality, we are dealing with the problem with polluted waters. This sewage project is an important project that will make solutions for residents that will affect the creation of better conditions for these inhabitants. This project, technically, means cleaning and finally, by means of the plant, the possibility that the cleansed water will be poured into the”, he said. / Periscope. /