Upgrade of Makis Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities

The Makis water treatment complex secures 60% of the total water demand of the City of Belgrade. It comprises three water treatment plants - Makis I, Makis II, and Jezero, as well as other ancillary facilities; while Makis II is new (commissioned in 2015), the two others need refurbishment to fully meet the City’s water needs. Moreover, the sludge and technical wastewater that result from the treatment of raw water are discharged directly into a settling tank on-site and in the urban sewage system. This practice negatively impacts the environment and incurs significant costs associated with the periodical removal of sediment from the tank.

This project concerns two components:

• Component 1: Refurbishment of Jezero Water Treatment Plant, construction of two new raw water distribution pipelines, and sediment removal from the settling tank (back-up water reservoir); 
• Component 2: New facilities for technical water and sludge treatment. 

Works on Component 1, which are financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loan, have already started. The works for Component 2, which are financed by recent contributions to the WBIF Joint Fund from Bilateral Donors, are due to start in 2018.

The WBIF grant will allow for the processing of the water treatment by-products so that these are converted into a solid state and then deployed adequately. Specifically, it will assist with the construction of a pre-settling unit, a secondary sludge thickener, and a process wastewater treatment plant. The grant will offset a part of the investment costs which otherwise would have been reflected in a rather steep water tariff increase, beyond the current affordability levels of the low and mid-income population.

Links

€3 Million Grant for New Wastewater and Sludge Treatment Facilities in Belgrade, Serbia