Minister of Environment, Mining and Spatial Planning Oliver Dulic stated that the “Management of waste and wastewater in Serbian municipalities – IMPACT” project will enable citizens of five municipalities access to the sewage network and wastewater treatment facilities.

At a press conference, following the signing of an agreement on the project with Director of the German GIZ Uwe Stumpf, Dulic explained that this will improve waste management and help to remove two wild landfills, thus improving utility infrastructure in these local self-governments.

The Minister specified that the project is worth €5 million and that the selected municipalities will cooperate on it over the next six years.

The goal of the project is to preserve the health of the population and the environment, as well as to create new jobs, he remarked.

First Secretary for Economic Cooperation of the German Embassy in Serbia Kristof Eichen stressed that the project will resolve the problems of medium-sized municipalities, with up to 50,000 people, which lack the capacity for waste and wastewater management and access to adequate technologies.

Eichen explained that this also implies the use of innovative and cost-effective solutions in waste and wastewater management, recalling that through various project in this remit, Germany has already aided 23 local self-governments.

The issue of environmental protection has gained on importance after Serbia acquired candidate status, he stressed, recalling that although environmental laws have been passed in Serbia, their implementation is hampered due to the low technical and staff capacity in local self-governments.

Eichen noted that Serbia has over 4,500 wild landfills, that around 50% of households are connected to the sewage network and that wastewater is properly processed in only 15% of cases.

Partners in project implementation are the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency, the Serbian Environmental Protection Fund and the Zero Emission Network.