Project

Waste water disposal, Gjakova, Kosovo

As part of the development of the waste water sector in Kosovo, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs is planning the financing of a waste water project in Gjakova. EBP is supporting SECO in the evaluation of the institutional, financial, legal and technical feasibility of the project.

The waste water infrastructure in Kosovo is in a poor state. The waste water from residential areas usually reaches the surface water system untreated. SECO is therefore financing a waste water project in Gjakova. It is the first major investment by Switzerland in the development of the waste water sector in Kosovo. The planned Gjakova treatment plant has a capacity of around 32,000 inhabitant units and will be one of the first treatment plants in Kosovo. The treatment plant should contribute to a substantial improvement in the quality of the local water resources, and in the socio-economic conditions in the region of Gjakova.

In this feasibility study, in addition to evaluating the technical feasibility of the treatment plant and examining the project costs, EBP is analysing various institutional aspects of the Kosovar waste water sector. This includes making the necessary adaptations to the legal framework in the context of Kosovo’s approaches to the EU, the corporate development of the regional water supplies and the introduction of a water and waste water fee system that is affordable but still covers costs. Based on the assessment of the present situation and the institutional framework conditions on national, regional and local levels, the study evaluates the opportunities and risks of the project and defines targeted measures to ensure the sustainability of the investment.

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