Vodovod i Kanalizacija a.d. Bijeljina (the "Company"), supported by the Municipality of Bijeljina (the "City" or "Bijeljina"), Republika Srpska ("RS") and by the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("BiH") has signed a second loan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD" or "Bank") in the amount of EUR 5 million to be used towards financing part of the costs related to the construction of a Wastewater Treatment Plant ("WWTP") and further development of the water supply and wastewater networks in the City (the "Project").
The City has acquired a part of the currently abandoned WWTP used by the sugar refinery factory located in the nearby village of Velika Obarska, about six kilometres north of the Bijeljina. The acquired land will be ring-fenced and the new WWTP for urban wastewater will be built within the ring-fenced perimeters. The remaining land and facilities are deemed sufficient for the needs of the sugar refinery, if and when it resumes its operation. By the time the WWTP is commissioned, i.e. around the end of 2012, it is expected that approximately 4,000 households will be connected to the wastewater collection system, which is equal to some 15,000 population equivalent. The number of connected households will increase gradually every year depending on the availability of funds, primarily in the municipal budget, and is planned to reach 10,000 households, or 40,000 population equivalent by the year 2020. The WWTP must satisfy all applicable national and European Union (“EU”) legal requirements including but not limited to European Council Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban wastewaters. The estimated cost is EUR 6 million. This is a very rough estimation based on an empirical cost of EUR 150 per population equivalent. Any potential shortfall will be financed from the contingencies provided in the EBRD loan.
EU-financed consultants have carried out a Feasibility Study and Conceptual Design to determine the required footprint versus the space available, flexibility of the process on fluctuations in hydraulic and pollution loads, complexity of later enlargement, and especially the operation and maintenance costs and complexity. The Conceptual Design has recommended the most appropriate and feasible sludge treatment process and disposal taking into account that stabilization and disposal of sludge in sanitary landfill is not a sustainable solution.
A joint Project Implementation Unit ("PIU") will be established consisting of representatives of the Company (in its capacity as the infrastructure manager) and the City (in its capacity as the infrastructure owner). The role of the PIU shall be to co-ordinate, manage, monitor and evaluate all aspects of the Project implementation.
The overall objective of the assignment is to assist and advise the PIU in the administration and supervision of the contract for the WWTP (the "Contract") by carrying out the duties of the Project Engineer. The Consultant shall exercise the authority attributable to the Engineer, as specified in or necessarily implied from the Contract, to ensure timely and satisfactory completion of the works in accordance with the Contract structure.
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