A reliable supply of clean water for households and businesses is considered a matter of course in most parts of Europe – and yet, for many years, this was not the case in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, and the surrounding region.
As part of a three-year project, the planning and engineering company Dorsch International is responsible for supervising design and construction work to improve the water supply in this region. At the end of last year, the Kosovan Prime Minister turned the first spadeful of earth to celebrate the start of the project.
Pristina is by some margin the largest city of Kosovo and thus its political, economic, and cultural centre. The water available to supply the city is limited and frequently of poor quality: outdated technical equipment, a backlog of investment and maintenance work, and a lack of trained staff had taken their toll on the functionality of the infrastructure. Many households pay nothing – or too little – for the water they use, which has in turn led to a weakening of the regional water companies. The consequences are regular interruptions to the water supply, affecting the living and working conditions in Pristina in a significant way.
In March 2013, a consortium composed of Dorsch International and SWECO HP was commissioned by the Regional Water Company Pristina (RWCP) to expand and improve the water supply on a long-term basis. This major project will be financed through loans and grants from KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau), a German state-owned development bank, and the European Union. After the planning phase was concluded, the Kosovan Prime Minister Hashim Thaci turned the first spadeful of earth to celebrate the start of the work.
During this project, a water treatment plant and a water transport piping system will be built; this infrastructure will be able to produce about 20 million cubic meters of clean drinking water annually and deliver it into the city, satisfying Pristina’s requirements until 2030 and providing a round-the-clock supply of drinking water.
The scope of the project work carried out by Dorsch International includes:
- planning new water systems and measures for water resource protection;
- preparing further documents needed to obtain building permits (e.g. environmental impact studies);
- compiling tender documents;
- tendering and contracting out construction services;
- supervising construction in all phases through to commissioning;
- project management.
“After completion in 2017, Pristina and the surrounding region will have an uninterrupted water supply which will substantially improve the living conditions for the residents,” states Daphne Voss, project manager, International Cooperation at Dorsch.
