Wabag upgrades Kosovo treatment plants

VA Tech Wabag of Austria is repairing and upgrading water treatment plants in the southeastern Kosovo cities of Gijlan, Ferizai and Viti. Switzerland is making a significant contribution to improving the water supply in the Balkan state. A Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Interim Mission in Kosovo and the Swiss government led to the contract awarded to the Swiss branch of Va Tech Wabag to restore and modernise the water systems.

Water treatment plants in the three cities are only partly functional; however the plants must remain operational while renovations are being completed to provide inhabitants with an uninterrupted basic supply of water. The work scheduled includes replacing the electro-mechanical equipment, expanding the medium-voltage system and automating treatment processes. By mid-2003, the plants will run fully automatically and the plants and buildings will be fully renovated. In addition, Wabag launched an extensive training programme for employees of the water supply companies in the three cities as part of the US$ 6.4-million project.

In Afghanistan, Wabag is donating drinking water treatment systems to help restore infrastructure to the war-torn country. The water supply situation in Afghanistan is desperate. Not more than 19% of the population in urban areas have access to clean water and that figure is even lower in rural areas. This data is alarming given the rapid population growth rate.