prijava
SARAJEVO, October 15 (FENA) - The German Development Bank (KfW) and the Swiss Development Agency (SECO) have secured more than EUR 14 million in grant funding to help tackle wastewater collection and treatment in Gradiška.
Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vjekoslav Bevanda, Minister of Finance of RS, Zora Vidović, Mayor of Gradiška Zoran Adžić and Project Manager of KfW Stephan Raabe signed the agreements in Sarajevo today.
The agreements will be implemented by KfW, an agency with which BiH has had long-standing cooperation, noting that socially beneficial projects are the focus of their attention.
Bevanda expressed satisfaction that there are more and more grant contracts and they are especially useful for local communities and projects that relate to the living conditions and daily needs of the people.
Minister Vidović announced that the project will surely be successfully implemented in Gradiška municipality, which will contribute to a better life for people throughout the region, not just in the municipality where the project is being implemented.
KfW project manager Stephan Raabe explained that with a current portfolio of 12 projects worth EUR 418 million, in addition to another EUR 52 million from other donors, the financial cooperation implemented by KfW makes Germany the largest bilateral donor in BiH.
With regard to the Gradiška project, Raabe emphasizes that following the wastewater treatment projects implemented in Bihać and Zenica, this project in Gradiška is another step towards the introduction of a modern wastewater treatment system that complies with European standards.
As noted today, 22,000 citizens of Gradiška will be direct beneficiaries of the project, which will ensure a better and healthier living environment in the city, and the project also contributes to the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals related to clean water, sanitation and climate protection.
Mayor of Gradiška Zoran Adžić said that this project will enable citizens to have an orderly system for wastewater collection and treatment, which will at the same time contribute to the protection of the environment and water sources that serve to supply water throughout the entire Gradiška area.
The funds will be spent for the reconstruction of the primary sewerage system, its extension, the construction of a city sewage treatment plant and the construction of 30 kilometers of secondary sewerage network.
The grant agreements need to be ratified by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why they expressed hope this will happen soon so that the implementation of the project starts as soon as possible and ends in the next three years, the period foreseen for its implementation.
(FENA) S. R.
