12.5 Billion Needed For Modernization Of Water And Drainage System

EUR 12.5 billion is the necessary investment for the modernization of the water and drainage sector in Bulgaria. These were the words of the Vice Minister of Public Works Dimcho Mihalevski on a discussion of the condition of the water sector and the future law for water procurement and drainage.Vice Minister Mihalevski stressed that 75% of the system in Bulgaria is obsolete. 35% of the funds needed will come from the Eurofunds but the rest must be assumed by the state and public-private sector, he said and added that up to this moment there are 90 locations in Bulgaria with various degrees of water shortage.Mihalevski pointed out that the future law for water and drainage system regulates a prime role of municipalities for the management of the sector that will be a equal and responsible factor together with the state.The Chair of the National Union of Municipalities Dora Yankova specified the demands of the municipalities - for clear rules of the ownership of the different subjects in the sector, a possibility for municipalities to set the conditions for usage of the water and drainage facilities by the operator of the services and the preparation of a national plan for necessary funds for the purchase of equipment, which according to the law are municipal property.