• The investment is in activities for the construction, reconstruction, and modernization of facilities on the territory of 21 agglomerations, served by 7 Water and Sewerage Operators

Today, contracts for the modernization of water and sewerage infrastructure for nearly 762 million BGN were signed at the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW) under the Environment Program 2021-2027. The contracts were signed by the Minister of Environment and Water Manol Genov and the directors of 7 water and sewerage companies in the presence of the Minister of Regional Development and Public Works (MRDPW) Ivan Ivanov. The implementation of the projects is a step in the common efforts to direct effective investments to the most significant needs in the water and sewerage Industry and address the challenges in the water sector.

"Today we are making great progress, because the MOEW and the MRDPW are criticized for the water shortage in the country. And with these investments in the construction and reconstruction of facilities, we will seriously reduce losses - we know that the companies have some of the largest losses according to the reports of the utilities regulator. We will be strict in our control with the program's managing authority. I wish that the projects will be implemented in full, on time and without corrections," said Minister Manol Genov during the ceremony.

Minister Ivan Ivanov reminded that one of the main tasks of the government is precisely to solve the problems in the water supply and sanitation sector, therefore the implementation of such investments is very important. “The funds that the EU invests in our water supply and sanitation infrastructure have two goals – to protect the environment, as the purified water is reused, and also to reduce the losses of drinking water,” added Minister Ivanov and also emphasized the control over strict implementation.

Andreas von Busch, Head of Unit “Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Hungary” at the European Commission’s DG “Regional and Urban Policy”, sent a congratulatory address for the event. It says: “Thanks to this investment, 7 more regions will benefit from modernized water supply, wastewater collection and treatment systems in accordance with EU standards. Protecting water quality is a cornerstone of both public health and environmental protection, and this initiative will have long-lasting benefits not only for Bulgaria's population, but also for its environment and rich nature, ensuring their protection and sustainable preservation for future generations."

"Activities are planned for the construction, reconstruction, and modernization of the infrastructure on the territory of 21 agglomerations served by the seven water and sewerage operators," said Galina Simeonova, Director of the Managing Authority of the program. The procedure "Construction of Water and Sewerage Infrastructure for Seven Water and Sewerage Operators" is under the "Water" priority, and the beneficiaries are "Water and Sewerage Yovkovtsi" (V. Tarnovo), "Water and Sewerage Gabrovo", "Water and Sewerage Pleven", "Water and Sewerage Sofia", "Water and Sewerage Targovishte", "Water and Sewerage Haskovo", and "Water and Sewerage Dobrich".

The total budget of the investment is 1,061,891,040 BGN, of which 761,691,326 million BGN is a grant and 320,199,527 BGN is co-funding from the beneficiaries.

Additional information on the signed contracts:

As a result of the implementation of the contracts under the program, the following investments are expected to be made:

Under the component "Wastewater Collection and Treatment":

1. A total of 10 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), of which:

- 3 newly constructed facilities - Ihtiman WWTP, Elin Pelin WWTP, and Svilengrad WWTP;

- 7 reconstructed and modernized wastewater treatment facilities, including provision of secondary and tertiary treatment for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus - Balchik WWTP, Albena WWTP, Kavarna WWTP, Gorna Oryahovitsa-Lyaskovets WWTP;

2. A total of 223.89 km of sewage network, of which:

- 136.46 km construction of new sewage network;

- 87.43 km reconstruction of sewage network.

Under component "Water supply and drinking water treatment":

1. A total of 6 drinking water treatment plants (DWTP), of which;

- 4 new facilities built - DWTP Yovkovtsi, DWTP Sevlievo, DWTP Targovishte, and DWTP Svilengrad;

- 2 reconstructed and modernized facilities - DWTP Haskovo and DWTP Dimitrovgrad.

2. A total of 218.50 km of water supply network reconstruction;
3. A total of 78.92 km of supply water pipes, of which:

- 65.35 km reconstruction of supply water pipes;

- 13.57 km construction of new supply water pipes.