Measure 1.1: Increasing productivity and competitiveness of economic, rural, cultural and natural resources of the programme area
Project Title: Strengthening of Economic Development through Sustainable Management of Water Resources
Project Budget:
| Project Value | EU Contribution | |
| Republic of Serbia | € 230,934.57 | € 181,745.00 |
| Montenegro | € 274,463.00 | € 232,823.00 |
| TOTAL | € 505,397.57 | € 414,568.00 |
Beneficiary of funds in the Republic of Serbia: Public Utility Enterprise “Vodovod i kanalizacija”, Novi Pazar
Partner: Municipality of Novi Pazar
Beneficiary of funds in Montenegro: Public Enterprise “Vodovod Bistrica”, Bijelo Polje
Partners:
• Directorate for Water of Montenegro, Podgorica
• Municipality of Bijelo Polje
Area of implementation:
• Montenegro: Municipality of Bijelo Polje
• Serbia: Town of Novi Pazar
Project duration: Republic of Serbia: 17/9/2012 – 16/9/2014; Montenegro: 16/8/2012 – 15/8/2014
Project objectives: The overall objectives of the project are: with joint efforts of all relevant actors of the society to improve quality of environment and management of water as a main precondition for sustainable development of agriculture and economy in cross border area; to introduce and to promote relevant EU standards and practices in the respective area. The specific objective of the project is to create necessary preconditions – strategic and infrastructural – for boosting sustainable development of agriculture of border area by way of establishing ground for sustainable and efficient water management and irrigation systems.
Activities and results of the project:
By engaging experts in the field of strategic marketing and stimulating all relevant local actors involved in social and economic development, five-year strategic plans for water supply and irrigation in municipalities of Bijelo Polje and the town of Novi Pazar were prepared and adopted in corresponding procedure. Specific activities that need to be undertaken in this area are defined by corresponding action plans adopted for a three-year period.
Within the project and based on pre-defined strategic development steps in the area of water supply and irrigation in Bijelo Polje, the works on the renovation of water intake and setting of water chlorination device were completed. The contribution to the improvement of the quality of drinking water in this town is evident. Works on replacing of 6 old water pump stations from the water supply system in Novi Pazar were completed, which resulted in significantly higher effectiveness and reliability of the water supply system.
During the work on the preparation of strategic framework for improving the water supply system, all local entities included in the institutional development system and water management in the cross-border region were identified. The project allowed representatives from these institutions to significantly improve their capacities, i.e. knowledge and skills required for the establishment of more effective water management. Workshops and trainings, organised for the representatives of these institutions, resulted in a series of new tailor-made solutions for the institutional framework, capable of being more effective in problem-solving.
Without doubt, in addition to functional infrastructure solutions and defining and establishing appropriate models of water supply and irrigation management systems, i.e. determining new relations among all local stakeholders, further development of local communities largely depends on citizens. Therefore, during the implementation of the project, a comprehensive campaign was organised and conducted on the importance of water, as a key natural resource for every community and on ways of protection and sustainable use of this natural treasure. For this purpose, the project team used all available resources, communication media and new knowledge to raise the awareness of general public in the cross-border region.
STATEMENTS:
Milan Bulatović, Director of the Public Enterprise “Vodovod Bistrica”, Bijelo Polje
“The implementation of the project “Strengthening of Economic Development through Sustainable Management of Water Resources” solved decades old problems of water supply in Bijelo Polje and Novi Pazar.
Through the preparation of strategic documents, with a strong participatory approach of citizens before and after the preparation of strategic documents for the distribution of water supply, where the key decision-makers in Bijelo Polje and Novi Pazar had the opportunity to exchange the knowledge and experience, through workshops organised in water supply companies, agricultural services, tourist and other organisations and institutions, we raised our capacities and improved institutional framework, upgraded human capacities and, most importantly, identified strategic directions for further development of water supply.
In Bijelo Polje we increased the capacity of water intake from the previous 240l/s, to current 510l/s, which is sufficient for twice the number of consumers currently connected to the system. Due to savings, resulting from the responsible use of EU funds, we were able to procure additional equipment that would contribute to the higher quality of supplied water.
In Novi Pazar, instead of planned renovation and mechanical outfitting of five pumping stations (Deževski put, Šestovo, Biserovača, Ćeremidžinica and Bukureš), and due to savings achieved through good financial management, a total of six pumping stations were renovated and mechanically outfitted, thus expanding the direct impact of the project on consumers who are supplied with water in Hadžet settlement in Novi Pazar.
The project included publications used in public campaigns intended for water saving, which were being implemented for six months at the same time in Bijelo Polje and Novi Pazar.
A total of 530 persons, of whom 214 were women, took part in the project through the study visit, coordination meetings, drafting and signing of the memorandum, preparation of strategic documents, workshops and the final conference.
The effective exchange of knowledge and experiences and the established trust during the implementation of this project created new partnerships and project ideas between institutions and organisations from Bijelo Polje and Novi Pazar, and I strongly believe that this will result in the preparation of new projects.“
Hanefija Brnjičanin, General Director of the Public Utility Enterprise “Vodovod i kanalizacija”, Novi Pazar
“The project “Strengthening the Economic Development through a Sustainable Management of Water Resources”, which was realized in PUC “Waterworks and Sewerage”, Novi Pazar, in the period from 2012 to 2014, achieved very significant results both regarding the investment part and the part relating to the preparation of strategic documentation, the part relating to the realized cooperation with many institutions both in Novi Pazar and in Bijelo Polje, as well as the significant publicity for the Serbia-Montenegro cross-border cooperation project.
The investment part of the project, which was realized very successfully, referred to the reconstruction and adaptation of five construction facilities, pumps for the height zones II and III in the water supply and distribution system of the city of Novi Pazar, and the hydro-mechanical equipping of such facilities. It should be noted that, after the reconstruction and equipping of the five above mentioned facilities had been realized, the money saved during the realization allowed us to also finance the equipping of the sixth pumping station, naturally with the consent of the donors, and thus complete the water supply system of the above mentioned zones.
The success of the project is reflected in the fact that the realization of the above mentioned project has removed the problems of the water supply system that Novi Pazar had been contending with during the previous two decades.
Preparation of the water distribution strategy for Novi Pazar, signing of a memorandum on cooperation, preparation of publicity materials, study visit to the water supply system of Kopar, implementation of practical workshops, cooperation between applicants on the above mentioned projects as well as the partner institutions of Serbia and Montenegro, media presentation of all events during the realization of the project – those are signs of a sustainable management of water resources, which was the objective of the cross-border cooperation project.”
