The Minister of Environment and Physical Planning, Kaja Shukova, together with the Ambassador of Switzerland H.E. Veronique Hulmann, the Ambassador of Greece H.E. Sofia Filippidou and the mayor of the municipality of Gevgelija, Andon Saramandov, today visited the location of the waste water treatment plant in Gevgelija and inspected the activities carried out in the last phase of the project: cleaning and closing the dumpsite and building the photovoltaic plant for the needs of the waste water treatment plant.
The realization of this extremely important infrastructure project is the result of the cooperation of three countries: Switzerland, Greece and North Macedonia and the active participation of the municipality of Gevgelija and its Public Utility Company.
The project “Construction of the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Gevgelija” is an exceptional project that showed how with good and dedicated cooperation, multiple benefits and sustainability can be achieved.
The Waste Water Treatment Plant contributes to the improvement of the living conditions of the citizens of two countries and to the protection of the environment by discharging clean water into the Vardar River. It means bringing North Macedonia closer to the European Union and the requirements of the European water directives, and the successful closure of the dumpsite enables the municipality of Gevgelija to manage its solid waste – which is now deposited at a sanitary dumpsite – in a safer and more sustainable way.
During the realization of the project, which contains several components, a redistribution of Swiss funds was made and the financing of the installation of a photovoltaic power plant was made, which covers about 30% of the required electricity for the waste water treatment plant and hence enabled partial self-production of electricity.
“This project is a symbol of a successful cooperation, a project that turned the area of an ecological black point in the municipality of Gevgelija into an eco-environment according to the highest standards” said the mayor of the municipality of Gevgelija, Andon Saramandov, adding that the project also contains a development component, as is planned to meet the needs of the city until 2036, and in addition, with this project, the municipality receives an important attribute that is necessary for further development plans.
In her speech, Minister Shukova emphasized that this project shows that the state, local self-government and our partners, EU member states and those that are not like the Swiss Confederation, implement projects with multiple components that are in the interest of both the state and the environment.
“In this way, we fulfill the legislation that is harmonized with that of the EU, which is a priority of the Government, but I also believe in every citizen of the state. I hope that we will carry out such successful projects that have multiple components in the future and I hope that what we do will be maintained not only by the Public Utility Company, but also by all citizens”, said Shukova from Gevgelija.
“This project is special for several reasons. It successfully adapted and overcame unexpected challenges, especially the significant increase in energy tariffs that endangered the operation and financial viability of the waste water treatment plant and managed to close the non-standard dumpsite,” said the ambassador of Switzerland H.E. Veronique Hulmann, adding that all partners fulfilled their part of the agreement and we can be proud that these joint efforts led to the successful realization of the project. Finally, she encouraged the municipality of Gevgelija and the Public Enterprise to continue their efforts and further expand the capacity of the solar panels in order to reduce current costs to a minimum.
“Greece has been present in this project sine 2001, and has contributed 2 million euros. Together with the initial project for the construction of the Water Management Treatment Plant that ended in September 2015, the closure of the dumpsite and the construction of the protective wall on the coast of Suva Reka are a comprehensive response to a key local and even transboundary environmental challenge,” said the ambassador of Greece, H.E. Sofia Filippidou.
The project is financed by the government of the Swiss Confederation, the Republic of Greece, the Republic of North Macedonia and the municipality of Gevgelija.