Kosovo* is characterised by low levels of water resources due to limited water resources availability, lack of storage, high vulnerability to climate change impacts and water-related risks, high pollution levels, lack of reliable information for planning, underdeveloped and outdated infrastructure, inefficient service delivery, disconnected planning, and limited enforcement.
To overcome the existing situation, Kosovo, in cooperation with the World Bank, has initiated a long-term multi-sector program aimed at (i) strengthening institutional capacity for transforming integrated land and water resources management foundations and (ii) implementing catalytic multi-sectoral investments in the Desivojcë - Kremenate - Gytrashes hydro system.
The planned site for Kremenate Dam is located in the eastern part of Kosovo in the administrative district of the municipality of Kamenica. Once implemented, the dam should provide drinking water, industrial water and water for irrigation for the municipalities in the region. Almost 50% of the Kamenice area is agricultural land while the upstream catchment area is highly bio-diversified and contains a game reserve and primeval beech forest.
In 2019, WBIF provided a technical assistance grant for the review of a Detailed Design for the construction of Kremenate Dam, developed in the 1980s, and the development of a Tender Dossier.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence
