Moldovan, German officials sign agreement on expanding regional water supply system

Chisinau, 13 March /MOLDPRES/ - Environment Minister Sergiu Palihovici and German KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) Country Director Gunnar Walzholz today signed a 730-thousand-euro-worth financing agreement for a feasibility study on expanding the Chisinau-Straseni-Calarasi aqueduct.

Under the project, a feasibility study on expanding the aqueduct will be worked out in cooperation with international experts. Subsequently, networks to the settlements would be drafted and built. The unification of the water supply systems of Chisinau city, Straseni and Calarasi towns, with the gradual connection of about 20 villages, represents a strategic infrastructure element, in the context of utilities' regionalisation.

Sergiu Palihovici highlighted that the agreement’s provisions were friendly for solving the water supply problems.  ”The creation of a regional water supply system will ensure access of residents from the Straseni and Calarasi districts to drinking water, in accordance with the sanitary standards and improvement of the quality of services. Once the works on construction of main aqueduct completed and local systems connected, a single institutional structure to manage the aqueduct will be established," Palihovici said. 

The document sets the duties of the involved sides and steps to be taken to implement the programme, identified as a priority one in the Strategy on water supply and sanitation for 2014-2018. At the same time, during last June talks, the Moldovan and German governments described the project as priority for the bilateral cooperation.

(Reporter L. Grubii, Editor A. Raileanu)