(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MAY 04 - The EBRD is helping to improve
the quality of water services in Serbia with an €11 million
sovereign guaranteed loan for the expansion of the water supply
infrastructure in the City of Subotica, in the northern part of
the country. As a European Union candidate country, adopting the
EU Environmental policy is one of Serbia's key priorities. It is
estimated that aligning Serbia's water infrastructure sector to
EU standards would require investments of approximately 5.5
billion euros.
Subotica is the country's fifth largest city, with a
population of 140,000. It is the first major city that has
constructed a wastewater treatment plant in line with EU
directives. Built with the support of EBRD financing, the plant
became operational in March 2012. Although improvements have
been made in the Subotica water sector, only 40 per cent of
Subotica's residents are currently connected to the sewerage
system. The new investment will enable to connect about 12,000
new consumers to wastewater systems, extending the overall
sewage coverage to close to 60 per cent of the population. It
will also help prevent the pollution of Palic Lake, one of the
top five tourist destinations in Serbia situated eight km to the
east of Subotica. (ANSAmed)
