Last week the Design Workshop was held in Cahul as part of ‘Water Supply and Sewerage in Cahul Rayon’ Project. The purpose of the workshop was to agree upon key assumptions of the Project and the list of investment priorities. The Project is supported by the German Federal Government and is implemented by the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction (MRDC) and KfW Development Bank, in close cooperation with the South Regional Development Agency (South RDA).

Michael Pucher, Senior Engineer of Regional and Urban Development at KfW: ‘During the negotiations held in 2014 between the Moldovan Government and the German Government, KfW Development Bank was invited as a partner to support water and sewerage projects, and namely the project in Cahul Rayon. Thus, the German Government through KfW Bank expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Republic of Moldova offering to Cahul Rayon, for improvement of the water and sewerage infrastructure, a grant of EUR 12 million. Successful implementation of the Project requires an efficient communication between the involved partners – Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, KfW Bank, Consultancy Company, German Cooperation through GIZ, Regional Development Agency South, JSC ‘Apa-Canal Cahul’ and the Local Public Administration of Cahul town/Rayon.”

The workshop brought together all project implementation partners; it provides for the overall rehabilitation of the water and sewerage infrastructure in Cahul Rayon, overall estimated costs of which amount, according to experts, to EUR 108 million. During the meeting consultants of ‘Posch & Partners’ company contracted by MRDC to develop the feasibility study, presented the concept of project on water supply and sanitation of Cahul town and Rayon with further extension of water supply networks to several localities of Vulcanesti Rayon, Gagauzia ATU. Fritz Schwaiger, team leader of ‘Posch & Partners’ Consulting Engineers’, offered a new vision of reforming the centralized water supply and sewerage system of Cahul town.

Vlad Casuneanu, Deputy President of Cahul Rayon: ‘We are honoured by the presence of important donors such as German Cooperation through GIZ and KfW Development Bank in Cahul. We, also, highly appreciate the work performed so far in the field of water and sewerage, in our Rayon, by ‘Posch & Partners’ company. The Project implemented by GIZ in the field of water and sewerage in Cahul Rayon, including the feasibility study conducted by ‘Posch & Partners’ and the funding that will be provided in the same field by KfW, indicate that we are beneficiaries of a great project, whose implementation would have been impossible without foreign partners support. It is unbelievable to imagine that today someone would be against implementation of this Project in Cahul and I hope that everyone is aware that actions that have been planned under it and are backed by foreign donors, the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, the Ministry of Environment and other structures, are very necessary and vital’.

KfW has reiterated its condition of strict compliance with the EU Directives and Moldovan standards, and the partners will decide in the near future the design parameters of the facilities covered by the Project and the feasibility of the solutions proposed by ‘Posch & Partners’, after which the parties will sign a Memorandum of Understanding in this regard. The Feasibility Study will be completed by the end of this year; the technical documentation is to be developed throughout 2017; the construction works will start around 2018.

According to the National Strategy objectives and the Sustainable Development Objectives of the United Nations, the German Federal Government through KfW Development Bank made a commitment to provide a grant of EUR 28.5 million and is funding two projects of strategic importance for the Republic of Moldova. The aim of the projects are the central and southern areas of the country where drinking water supply is generally based on groundwater resources, which are deficient in terms of quality and quantity, and many localities are not connected to the supply/sewerage systems. The total commitment of the German Government contributes to improving the health and quality of life of citizens of the Republic of Moldova, by providing access to safe drinking water and sanitation.

About KfW

KfW is a development bank of the German Federal Government, leader of the German banking sector and one of the largest banks in Europe, aiming both at supporting the national economy and development of the countries in transition. KfW has 70 representations and offices worldwide. It is present in Moldova since 1999, especially in the field of social infrastructure.