Eight new water treatment plants to be launched and put into operation by 2011

Raya Atanasova

“A total of 8 new wastewater treatment plants will be launched by the end of 2011,” said Minister of Environment and Water Nona Karadjova in Plovdiv at the “Integrated Water Management in the Balkans and Eastern Europe” international conference. Some 15 European countries partake in the forum, which is dedicated to the World Water Day - March 22. “In the past 18 months, a total of 9 wastewater treatment facilities, processing more than 35 mln cu m of sewage from settlements, were put into operation,” highlighted Karadjova, quoted by BTA. This year, the Ministry and municipalities will work on projects amounting to BGN 1 bn. According to Karadjova, Bulgaria has managed to reduce the pollution of rivers by industrial sources, but the problem of leakages of waste water from the sewage systems of settlements remains.

“The drafting of projects for water treatment plants is slow and sluggish because a number of problems have been established there,” told Klassa Ginka Chavdarova, Executive Director of the National Association of Municipalities. “There is a delay in the ownership transfer of the water infrastructure to municipalities,” said Malina Krumova, Head of Directorate with the Ministry of Environment and Water (MEW) and responsible for the Operational Programme Environment. “The control of the approved projects is not being carried out on time,” admitted Krumova.

So far, there are 4 contracts in the waste sector, signed under the procedures launched during this term in office. We are planning contracts to the amount of at least BGN 700 mln to be concluded by the end of 2011, and  in the water  and  the waste sectors the value of the concluded contracts will exceed BGN 115 mln. “However, this would only be possible with the active participation of municipalities and if high-quality projects are submitted,” stated MEW officials.

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