The water system and networks in Gradacac are largely comprised of pipes that were installed during the industrial development era in the 1970-80s. These are built up of several types of material (e.g. steel, asbestos cement pipes), and some of the pipes have an inadequate profile and are of poor quality. Water losses from these networks are high at over 50%, indicating the poor state of the distribution systems. Similarly, access and connections to the public sewage network is still a challenge: the network is insufficiently spread and the wastewater treatment plant (built in 1982) required immediate rehabilitation efforts.
These poor conditions emphasise the necessity to refurbish the water and wastewater networks, as well as the water and wastewater treatment plants in the project area. In order to address the aforementioned problems, the local municipality initiated the ‘Gradacac Water Supply Project’.
Due to the high investment needs and a lack of available funds, the infrastructure project has been divided into four components, as seen below:
The €2.1 million investment grant from the WBIF will be used for Component I to replace the existing asbestos pipes and for improving the insufficient capacity of the water supply system (approx. 35 km).
Start of Works on the Water Supply System in Gradačac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| WBIF | Grant | WB-IG03-BIH-ENV-03 | € 2,667,460 |
| EBRD | Loan | € 6,000,000 | |
| Sida | External Grant | € 2,300,000 | |
| Czech Development Agency | External Grant | € 1,000,000 | |
| National Contribution | Own Contribution | € 4,988,000 | |
| Total | € 16,955,460 | ||
| Total Grants | € 2,667,460 | ||
| Total Loans | € 6,000,000 | ||
