UNMIK/PR/1323
PRISTINA – UNMIK and the Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW) have signed today a Financing Agreement for Improvement of Water Supply and Sewage. The KfW will provide 9 million Euro for this important sector. The Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, Bajram Kosumi, initialled the Agreement on behalf of the PISG, and Acting Managing Director Jasper Dick signed on behalf of the Kosovo Trust Agency, which will be responsible for the implementation of the programme.
The KfW will support the water sector in Western Kosovo. More than two thirds of the 9 million Euro financial contribution will be directed for investments exclusively for procurements, priority rehabilitation of urban water supply systems and consulting services for the Regional Water Supply Companies in Gjakova/Djakovica-Rahovec/Orahovac, Peja/Pec and Prizren. These are recently consolidated water companies that will be incorporated during 2005. The rest of the money will flow into accompanying measures, such as developing a strategy for regional companies and consultant services.
“KfW has supported the economic reconstruction in Kosovo for almost six years now. They have been donating money where it is especially needed – so they do today,” said DSRSG Joachim Ruecker, who signed the agreement on behalf of UNMIK. He emphazised that “sustainability is essential to the success of our work in Kosovo. But even more important is that we help people to get on their own feet”.
Minister Kosumi thanked KfW for the contribution and stressed that “water is a sector, which is of high importance for public health and for the economic development”. He said that it is important for Kosovo to have self-financing publicly owned enterprises, which are open to the market and the consumer.
The total amount committed by KfW to the Kosovo Water Sector since 1999 now amounts to 43 million Euro. In the first years, emergency repairs were financed in 17 cities, but now KfW is targeting its investments to support the water companies aimed at making them self-sustainable.
“We direct our support to water companies forming strong, regional units, and expect good management and regular payment of water bills”, said Johannes Feist, Director KfW office Pristina. This strategy was developed in several “Kosovo Water Conferences” between the Minister of Environment and Spatial Planning, KTA, the municipalities, KfW and other donors.