Black spot on environmental map - Continuation of Great Backa Canal cleaning project uncertain

(Great Backa Canal)

Although the Great Backa Canal is marked as one of the most polluted spots in Europe and the project involving the construction of a central wastewater treatment plant (CPPOV) tagged "urgent," its implementation has been discontinued and it is still unknown when the work will be resumed.

- The EU Delegation to Serbia, the project financier, has stopped the project implementation because one of the contractors, the OTV France - Millennium Team Serbia consortium, failed to meet technical specifications contained in the agreement - Natalija Trivkovic, manager of the CPPOV Vrbas/Kula project implementation unit, says to eKapija.

By the way, the Vrbas/Kula central wastewater treatment plant (CPPOV Vrbas/Kula) construction project is a component of the Great Backa Canal (GBC) remediation project, which includes: construction of the main sewer in the area between Vrbas and Kula, construction of a sewerage system in five villages of the Vrbas municipality, CPPOV Vrbas/Kula construction, and, in the end, GBC remediation.

A EUR 15.1 million grant for the CPPOV Vrbas/Kula construction project from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) funds was approved back in 2008. By the decision of the Serbian government, 13 million euros were designated for construction works, whereas remaining EUR 2.1 million were to be spent on a technical support to the project. After the first contractor was selected in 2010, an agreement to build a part of the plant, so-called water line, was signed in 2011. In early 2012, another contractor was selected to build the other part of the plant - the mud line.

The total budget of the project was initially set at EUR 23.6 million, mainly owing to the donations provided by the EU, National Investment Plan (NIP), Environmental Fund, municipalities Vrbas and Kula, Vojvodina Capital Investment Fund, etc. However, the value of the entire project has already exceeded that amount. According to the CPPOV project implementation unit, its value currently amounts to EUR 32,039,000.

As the media reported, representatives of the British investment fund Balkan Power Corporation have visited Serbia and expressed their interest in joining this project. However, negotiations with that company are still at the level of ideas.

Therefore, further implementation of the project depends on the financier and its decision on whether to continue to finance the project. As the Republic of Serbia and municipalities Kula and Vrbas are end-users of the project, they are obligated to provide a sufficient quantity of wastewater for the future plant by completing the construction of a sewerage system in Vrbas.

I.M.