Implementation of the €27 million investment project to upgrade Mykolaiv Vodokanal, municipal water/wastewater enterprise, will begin in the second half of this year, as scheduled, even though the City Rada lingered out with approval of the project, Vodokanal told the LED Monitor on Wednesday.
The Rada gave the project the go-ahead on June 19, 2007, four months after it had been approved by a public hearing. According to the local web-based newspaper Mukola.net, the Rada adjourned decision on the issue several times, postponing it from session to session.
“As soon as the Rada passed the project, we telephoned that to the Economy Ministry, and the next day they forwarded the project to the Finance Ministry, because the Economy Ministry had already reviewed it earlier,” said Mykola Petrov, Vodokanal Deputy Director for Economy.
He also reported a good news from Varna, Bulgaria, which was the venue of the European Commission (EC) DABLAS Task Force meeting on June 20-22. He said the task force approved the project, lined out ways of its implementation, and confirmed the willingness of EC to cofinance the implementation.
Mykolaiv Vodokanal did not let the grass grow under their feet, just waiting for the green light from the Rada. In March, the city submitted the project to the Construction Ministry, which forwarded the documents to the Economy Ministry, enclosing its conclusion. The Economy Ministry responded on March 27, requesting additional information, among that on property that will serve as collateral, and auditor’s report on possibility to sell this property, Mr. Petrov recited.
He said, the city identified the Dnipro – Mykolaiv service water conduit as collateral, made market valuation of the asset, and had an auditor conclude on its marketability. All requested documents were sent to the Economy Ministry on June 13.
As of Tuesday, the Finance Ministry has not yet reviewed the project it received from the Economy Ministry, but Mr. Petrov believes it will take a few days.
If the Finance Ministry gives a positive conclusion on the project, it will forward the papers to the Cabinet of Ministers, whose guaranty is required for a loan to a city with population below 800,000.
The total cost of the project, developed with assistance from the EC DABLAS Task Force, is €27.29 million. Vodokanal is expected to cover part of the expenses with €7.85 million of its own money. The rest, which may only materialize in case of the state guarantee, will be funded through €15.54 million borrowed from the European Investment Bank (EIB), a €3.12 million EC cofinancing, and a €0.78 million EC technical assistance grant.
It is expected that the project will be complete in 2012.
According to the EC web-site, the “DABLAS Task Force was set up in November 2001 with the aim to provide a platform for co-operation for the protection of water and water-related ecosystems in the Danube and Black Sea Region.”
Mykolaiv Economic Development Strategic Plan, worked out with assistance from the USAID LED project in October 2006 and approved by the City Rada on Jan. 31, 2007, addresses communal infrastructure as one of the plan’s three critical issues. Goals to be attained under the communal infrastructure issue include creation of a modern and efficient public utilities system to ensure comfortable and safe residence, and raising funds for communal infrastructure development.
Sources:
http://www.mukola.net/index.php?link=&action=explain&id=8660&back=51
http://www.led.net.ua/eng/news/148.html