The government will receive a 50 million euro loan for the water supply companies. The need for investment in improving the situation

The government will receive a 50 million euro loan from the German KFW, in function of investments in the water supply and sewerage sector. The loan agreement has reached the Assembly for discussion, while it will finance investments aimed at improving the situation of drinking water supply, collection, removal and treatment of used urban water in the municipalities that will be included in the program.

Also, through these investments, it is aimed to improve the performance indicators of the regional water supply and sewerage companies, which will be selected for financing. In this context, KfË will also make available a grant of 3 million euros, for strengthening the capacities of regional water supply and sewerage companies for the municipalities that will be included in the program. According to the report that accompanies the agreement in the Assembly, the planning and specification of investments will be carried out through the updating and drafting of feasibility studies, where the multi-year needs for investments will be determined, then financing the most priority investments.

The need for financing in the water supply and sewerage sector is great, given that the level of network losses and non-revenue water is very high. Also, currently the average hours of water supply are recorded at 16 hours/day, while a large part of the territory does not have the necessary sewage infrastructure. Meanwhile, according to official documents, achieving the objectives for 24-hour water supply and sewerage network by 2030 requires a financing value of about 162 billion ALL, 92% of which are investment costs. The financial gap for this figure results in 10%, the other amount is expected to be provided to a large extent by the increase in the fees paid by subscribers.